JOINT COMBAT TRAINING DEVELOPMENT OF MILITARY PERSONNEL’S PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL READINESS TO PERFORM ASSIGNED TASKS

Abstract

The research purpose was to determine how successfully service members’ psychological and psychophysiological readiness was formed at the Armed Forces of Ukraine during joint combat training with the aim to perform tasks in the UFO zone. Methodology. The study was conducted in the first half of 2021. 149 service members of a separate mechanized brigade participated in it. We conducted two series of studies with an interval of 3 months and 10 days: 1) two weeks after the start of individual combat training at the place of permanent deployment; 2) after joint combat training. In both series of studies, the Ukrainian adaptations of six measures were used to examine indicators of both psychological and psychophysiological readiness. Scientific novelty. For the first time, the specifics and degree of successful formation of service members’ psychological and psychophysiological readiness to perform tasks as assigned during joint combat training at the Armed Forces of Ukraine was determined empirically. Conclusions. The obtained research results showed that the studied service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had appropriate psychological and psychophysiological readiness to perform assigned tasks even before joint combat training. In addition, this readiness increased significantly during the training. This was evidenced by the following indicators: 1) all seven indicators of Multilevel Personal Questionnaire ‘Adaptability-200’ (increased tolerance to combat stress, improved behavioural regulation, communicative potential, morality and military-professional orientation, reduced signs of deviant behaviour and suicidal risk); 2) all eight indicators of military professional hardiness (its general level, military-professional commitment, control, challenge, emotional, motivational, social and professional components); 3) three scales of self-esteem that characterizes readiness to UFO participation (interest in UFO participation, willingness to perform UFO duties and confidence in one’s abilities); 4) increased internal military-professional motivation; 5) significantly decreased PTSD symptoms. The revealed high psychological and psychophysiological readiness of service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to perform assigned tasks, revealed in the performed research, acquired during the previous effective military professional training, became one of the most important components of the unexpectedly high combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army in repelling Russian armed aggression in 2022.