Suicide mission The term suicide mission commonly refers to a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive . The term is sometimes extended to , but is not limited to , suicide attack s such as kamikaze and suicide bombing s , where the people involved actively commit suicide during the execution . The risks involved with suicide missions are not always apparent to those participating in them or to those who plan them . However , for an action to be considered a suicide mission someone involved must be aware of the risks . A mission that goes horribly wrong is not a suicide mission . An individual or group taking part in a mission may perceive the risks involved to be far greater than what they believe to be acceptable , while those planning or commanding the mission may think otherwise . These situations can often lead to refusals to participate in missions on the basis that they are " suicide missions " . Similarly , planners or commanders may be well aware of the risks involved with missions while those participating in them may not . In a military context , soldiers can be ordered to perform very dangerous tasks or can undertake them on their own initiative . In October 2004 , during the Iraq War , 17 soldiers in the US Army refused orders to drive unarmored fuel trucks near Baghdad , calling the task a " suicide mission " . Those soldiers faced investigations for breakdown of discipline . In the First World War , French soldiers mutinied en masse in 1917 after appalling losses convinced them that their participation at the front would inevitably lead to their deaths . At the same time , many groups voluntarily undertake suicide missions in times of war . Both the Waffen SS and the Imperial Japanese Army were known for executing what could be labeled as suicide missions throughout the Second World War . Suicide missions can also be an act of desperation , such as a last stand . The latter end of the Battle of Stalingrad could be seen as a suicide mission from the German perspective , as they were ordered to fight to the death with no option of surrendering and no chance of escape . Special Forces units are often sent on missions that are exceedingly dangerous with the hope that their superior training and abilities will allow them to complete them successfully and survive . An example is the desperate attempt by two U . S . Delta Force snipers to protect a downed helicopter pilot from being killed or captured by masses of Somali militia during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 . While the sniper team held off overwhelming numbers of Somalis long enough for the pilot to survive , both were killed and the pilot was eventually captured but then later released . However , even special forces groups refuse to participate in some missions . During the 1982 Falklands War , a plan for an SAS raid on Río Grande , Tierra del Fuego was ultimately not executed , due in part to significant hostility from members of the SAS who saw the mission as exceedingly risky . Armed hostage takings , particularly those planned ( e . g . by a terrorist group ) for political purposes , could be considered suicide missions . As most governments have a policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists , such incidents usually end with a bloody confrontation between the hostage takers and an armed force ( police , military etc . ) attempting to free the hostages . In addition , such hostage takings often occur in a country foreign to those participating in it , making their chances of escape very limited . Notable examples include the 1972 Munich massacre , the 1977 Landshut Hijacking , the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege , the 1996 Japanese embassy hostage crisis , and the Beslan school hostage crisis . All of these high profile hostage takings ended with the hostage takers being engaged by the military forces of the country in which the incident occurred , with the vast majority of the hostage takers being killed in the aftermath . The extent to which the hostage takers in each incident expected to survive or simply desired to capitalize on their publicity to send a message is a matter of speculation .