Socio-psychological determinants of the functioning of a military team in combat conditions

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the socio-psychological features of the functioning of a military collective as a specific small group in conditions of full-scale war. The relevance of the study is due to the need for a scientific rethinking of the mechanisms of management of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are formed mainly from mobilized individuals and operate in conditions of permanent vital stress. The author reveals the dualistic nature of the structure of a military unit, which consists in a complex dialectical interaction of the official (formal) and unofficial (sociometric) components. Based on a comparative analysis, it is proven that in conditions of combat operations, a rigid hierarchical structure often loses its regulatory function, giving way to horizontal connections based on trust and authority. The thesis is substantiated that the combat capability of a unit directly depends on the degree of consonance of these structures and the successful integration of informal leaders into the process of performing service and combat tasks, which allows to level the risks of "status mismatch" in heterogeneous teams. Based on the analysis of modern scientific research (works by V. Yagupov, O. Pervachuk, R. Khomchak, etc.), the article differentiates the concepts of social and activity (combat) cohesion. It is argued that in extreme conditions, the priority factor of effectiveness is precisely activity cohesion, which is based on the functional interdependence of fighters and professional trust, and not only on emotional sympathies. The dynamics of the transformation of a “diffuse group” into a cohesive combat team through the stages of adaptation, conflict structuring, and combat synergy are described. Special attention is paid to the impact of combat stress on the system of social and legal regulators of the behavior of military personnel. It was determined that in conditions of immediate threat to life, the dominant role is played by moral responsibility to fellow soldiers and the unit's "code of honor", while the effectiveness of external legal sanctions (fear of punishment) is significantly reduced. A direct correlation has been established between the level of perception of social justice in the unit and indicators of military discipline. The transformation of military leadership styles in wartime is analyzed: from classical authoritarian-directive to situational and authoritative. The psychological triad of the authority of a combat commander is determined, which consists of competence, justice and empathy. The final part outlines ways to optimize the moral and psychological climate through the implementation of after-action techniques, ritualization of military life and the development of communicative competence of the sergeant corps as key mediators in the team.