Personal Characteristics of an Officer and the Perception of his Image by the Military Personnel

Introduction. The objective need of the Russian state for trained officer cadres implies special attention to the personal characteristics of the officer and the perception of his image by the military personnel. Due to the socio-political situation in the country, the special operation to denationalize Ukraine, this has become even more relevant, since subordinate personnel should follow an example of the personality of an officer — a military professional, patriot, defender of the Fatherland. This determines the appropriateness and practical significance of the scientific analysis of the personal characteristics of the officer and the features of his image as viewed by the military personnel, as the basis of his authority in the military collective. The image of an officer viewed by the military personnel is largely related to the assessment of his effectiveness, authority, credibility, etc. The military reform carried out permanently over the past decade and in the context of the social crisis of the Russian society, the low efficiency of ensuring the social, spiritual and professional needs of military personnel have led to a number of negative phenomena in the officer’s environment. These include degradation of the moral values of the institute of military service, the orientation of a significant part of the officers to the utilitarian-pragmatic component in professional activities, disinterest in the training and education of subordinates, lack of desire for professional and personal self-improvement. In this regard, a problem arises: what kind of an officer do the contract soldiers want to see? The resolution of this issue is covered by the current study. Materials and Methods. The methodological foundations of solving the problem include a complex of psychological, military-pedagogical approaches, theories and concepts that reveal the features of the officer's personality. The author employed the method of T. Leary, the questionnaire «Personality assessment map ofthe officer», the method «Indirect measurement of the self-assessment system». The main interpretive methods were: comparative analysis, mathematical statistics, including correlation analysis according to Spearman. The study involved sixty military servicemen. Results and Discussion. The qualities of the officer's personality, which are associated with the image of an officer as viewed by the military personnel under contract, are revealed. The most typical personality traits involved courage, fairness, honesty, which, as components of the image of an officer, are significantly interrelated. Conclusions. The study showed that there are significant relationships between the personal characteristics of an officer and the peculiarities of his image as viewed by the military personnel. The officer's personality assessment map developed for the research purposes is a functional prognostic tool as it covers professionally important qualities of an officer, which may be estimated by the people around (experts) without any additional diagnostical methods, and reveals to what degree and with what exactly the qualities desired by the officer are related to the indicators measured by traditional methods.