MOTIVATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL WITH COMBAT EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study on the motivational characteristics of military personnel with combat experience in the context of contemporary psychological, social, and professional challenges of wartime service. The relevance of the study is determined by the prolonged armed conflict, the intensity of combat experience, and the necessity to deepen the understanding of internal psychological determinants that influence servicemen’s professional effectiveness, psychological resilience, and post-combat personal and professional functioning. The focus of the research is the motivational sphere of the serviceman’s personality as a dynamic system that undergoes significant transformations under the impact of combat stress, extreme operational conditions, value shifts, and changes in life-meaning orientations. The purpose of the article is to identify and theoretically and empirically substantiate the specific features of motivation in military personnel with combat experience, as well as to analyze the factors that determine their professional activity, moral readiness, and resistance to emotional exhaustion. The methodological framework of the study is based on the concepts of military, social, and motivational psychology, theories of professional motivation, moral readiness, and psychological resilience of military personnel. The research employed theoretical methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization of scientific sources, along with empirical psychological methods aimed at studying motivational characteristics in servicemen with varying levels of combat experience, followed by statistical processing and interpretation of the obtained data. The scientific novelty of the research lies in clarifying the structure and content of motivation under combat conditions and identifying dominant motivational factors related to the value-meaning sphere, professional identity, and moral responsibility for military duty. The findings demonstrate a shift in motivational priorities from external incentives toward internal determinants, such as a sense of duty, awareness of the social significance of service, cohesion with comrades, and meaning-making orientations. At the same time, the study reveals potential risks of motivational decline associated with prolonged combat exposure, emotional burnout, and insufficient psychological support. The conclusions substantiate that the motivational sphere of military personnel with combat experience functions as a key psychological resource for maintaining professional effectiveness and psychological stability. The results of the study can be applied in the system of psychological support of military service, command-training programs, and the development of interventions aimed at enhancing motivation, preventing emotional burnout, and strengthening psychological resilience of servicemen under combat conditions.