Comparative analysis of war veterans’ adaptation programs to civilian life in Ukraine, Great Britain and the USA

5. Coordination. Despite a fairly clear division of labour between the relevant projects in this area, little proactive effort has been made in the sector to develop more coherent approaches related to advocacy, knowledge sharing and outreach to ensure that more support and services are available to veterans. Therefore, the lack of coordination sometimes led to the layering and incoordination of limited resources, competition and overabundance of even a limited number of training programs implemented in this area.

The Advisory Group on International Security of the Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces in the report on the evaluation of the project Effectiveness of the project “Ukraine-Norway. Retraining and social adaptation of military personnel and their family members in Ukraine” came to the conclusion that, in general, the program is highly rated according to the criteria of compliance, quality and efficiency. However, there is a need to further strengthen the project by applying more concrete efforts to coordinate with partners and to attract more local interest among national public authorities to introduce the main components of the project into national systems and create more common and transparent decision-making processes related to the main elements of the project (International Fund for Social Adaptation, 2022).

Discussion

Among the scientific studies, the work of E.V. Abramov (2016) is noted for its deep analysis. The scientist singles out the following types of adaptation of servicemen released to the reserve:

1. Social adaptation - mastering the rules of behaviour and communications in a civilian environment.

2. Professional adaptation - improvement or mastering of new professional knowledge, abilities and skills for successful employment.

3. Legal adaptation - assimilation of legal norms that regulate the personal status of a serviceman released into reserve and determine his rights, opportunities, and obligations.

4. Psychological adaptation - mastering those norms, institutions, patterns of behaviour that exist in society.

The researcher emphasizes the importance of social and professional adaptation of war veterans in order to ensure competitiveness in the labour market. A slightly different opinion O.O. Bukovska (2015), which, unlike E.V. Abramov (2016), singles out the legal, professional and psychological component, but does not single out the social component. In modern science, several areas of study of the problem of social adaptation of servicemen released to the reserve have been formed, namely: employment of servicemen released to the reserve, medical and psychological rehabilitation and psychological assistance O. Shcherbinin (2009), M.M. Medvid (2010) and E.V. Abramov (2016) claim that professional rehabilitation should take place in the following directions: retraining and employment of servicemen released to the reserve; training of specialists from among the released war veterans for their further employment in newly created organizations, institutions and enterprises. And in that O. Shevchuk and N. Mentukh (2017) provides convincing evidence that the sources of scientific doctrine represent only one component of the problem, leaving out the study of legal aspects of career guidance work with servicemen who are released from military service. As a result, the state institutes did not create a professional orientation system for the participants of the OUF (Operation of United Forces), and, accordingly, many war veterans lost their jobs or cannot find them after being released from the reserve.

It should be noted that there are different views in science regarding the solution to the problem of employment of servicemen released into reserve, since Law of Ukraine No. 5067-VI “On Employment of the Population” (2012) provides an extended terminological list of professional means of social rehabilitation of military personnel. In particular, the Law provides for “professional rehabilitation”, “labour rehabilitation”, “professional orientation”, “professional adaptation”. In this way, the corresponding directions in the study of this issue were formed. Among the fundamental studies of medical and psychological rehabilitation, should be mentioned the article of A.I. Yena (2014). In the scientist's work, it was investigated that the consequences of combat mental trauma are: an acute reaction to stress, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic personality change after experiencing a disaster. The author emphasizes that it is necessary to provide only comprehensive medical and psychological rehabilitation in the form of preventive, clinical, functional and psychological assistance with measures of psychodiagnostics, pharmaco-correction, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, psycho-correction, training and self-training. Also, A.I. Yena indicates that medical and psychological rehabilitation should be carried out at the following levels: recruitment and completion of the preparatory process in a specialized centre, participation in combat operations, the process of withdrawal from the combat zone for rest and retraining, treatment in medical facilities and adaptation to peaceful life.

According to S.M. Kucherenko and N.M. Khomenko (2017), the process of psychological assistance to combatants should include the following stages:

1. Diagnostics of psycho-emotional states, characteristics of behaviour and adaptation to the civilian life.

2. Psychological counselling in the form of individual conversations or family counselling. The purpose of psychological counselling is to enable the client to express, discuss painful issues and help him understand that the condition he experienced is a temporary phenomenon that is common to all combatants.

3. Psycho-corrective work. Psychological correction is a system of psychological influences aimed at correcting those features of mental development that do not correspond to the norm. First of all, psychotherapeutic help is needed for those war veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, impaired adaptation to civilian life, and deviant behaviour.

4. Psychological trainings to increase the adaptability of the personality and personal development of the serviceman.

5. Teaching self-regulation skills - relieving tension using self-training methods, relaxation, breathing exercises, and meditation.

6. Expert assistance with career guidance for retraining and future employment, as well as professional self-determination.

Conclusions

Summarizing the above, it can be noted that international projects such as the NATO program and the “Norway-Ukraine. Professional adaptation. Integration into the state system” projects are crucial to the budget program's execution since they help servicemen who are discharged from the military adjust to society and their careers. The presence of a partner network and a proven model of social and professional adaptation of war veterans can become the basis for eliminating problems in the implementation of state programs, in particular the budget program of the CPCEC 1501040 “Measures for psychological rehabilitation, social and professional adaptation, provision of sanatorium-resort treatment for injured participants of the Revolution of Dignity, participants in the anti-terrorist operation and persons who carried out measures to ensure national security and defence, repulse and deter armed aggression of the Russia in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions”.

An important stage of the work is conducting a comparative analysis of the experience of military adaptation programs to civilian life in Ukraine, Great Britain and the USA. Thus, it was established that the presence of key positions that provide an opportunity to ensure its effectiveness and success is inherent to the policy of different countries in the functioning of the mechanism under study. These include the implementation of psychosocial support for military personnel, a high level of financial support, the provision of the opportunity to obtain higher education while in military service, the allocation of grant assistance for retraining, as well as the provision of a specialized base of employers for military personnel who have already undergone retraining. Thus, the analysed international experience made it possible to find out the fact that, despite certain problematic principles regarding the implementation of the budget program, which aims to finance adaptation measures for veterans of a professional and socio-psychological nature, Ukraine has its own experience in the functioning of international projects, which are characterized by high efficiency and success. The goal of conducting additional research will be to identify suggestions for improving the efficacy of social-psychological rehabilitation and transitional measures for military personnel into civilian life.

References

[1] Abramov, E.V. (2016). Adaptation of servicemen released into reserve as a tool to ensure their competitiveness on the market. Economics and Management Organization, 22, 259-265.

[2] Avtushenko, I.B. (2014). International programs of socio-professional adaptation of discharged servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their family members. Ethnic History of the Peoples of Europe, 42, 201-206.

[3] Buhun, A. (2015). Experience of civil education of servicemen in the armies of advanced countries of the world. Origins of Pedagogical Skills, 16, 3-12.

[4] Bukovska, O.O. (2015). Psychological assistance to families of servicemen returning from the combat zone. Bulletin of the Chernivtsi National Pedagogical University named after T.G. Shevchenko, 128, 29-32.

[5] Buryak, O.O. (2014). Social adaptation of the army of Ukraine to new conditions of existence. Collection of Scientific Works of Kharkiv Air Force University, 4(41), 160-166.

[6] Buryak, O.O. (2015). Military syndrome “ATO”: Relevance and solutions at the state level. Collection of Scientific Works of Kharkiv Air Force University, 2(43), 176-181.

[7] Datsyuk, I. P. (2007). Comparative analysis of the mechanisms of social and legal protection of military personnel in the developed countries of the world. State Construction, 2. Retrieved from http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/DeBu 2007 2 48.

[8] EUROMIL - European Organization of Military Associations. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.euromil.org/news.

[9] Gorbenko, S.V. (2013). Adaptation of servicemen to civilian life is one of the main directions of personnel policy development in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Collection of Scientific Works of Kharkiv Air Force University, 4, 15-21.

[10] Gorbenko, S.V. (2014). Experience of adaptation of servicemen to civilian life in the USA. Collection of Scientific Works of Kharkiv Air Force University, 2, 42-44.

[11] Hofer, H.-G., Prull, C.-R., & Eckart, W.U. (2011). War, trauma, and medicine in Germany and Central Europe (1914-1939). Freiburg: Centaurus.

[12] Horowitz, M.J., & Solomon, G.F. (1975). A prediction of delayed stress response syndromes in Vietnam veterans. Soldiers in and after Vietnam, 31(4), 67-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1975.tb01012.x.

[13] Husak, O.H. (2008). World experience in the development of state policy regarding the formation of interprofessional mobility of military personnel. State Construction, 1. Retrieved from http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/DeBu 2008 1 75.

[14] International Fund for Social Adaptation. (2022). Retrieved from https://ifsa.kiev.ua.

[15] Kokun, O.M. (2014). Peculiarities of negative mental states of military personnel. Bulletin of the National Defense University of Ukraine, 5(42), 262-267.

[16] Kovalova, I.B., & Mozgoviy, V.I. (2016). Experience of psychocorrective and rehabilitation work with participants of the anti-terrorist operation on the basis of the Minsk sanatorium “Ostrech”. Bulletin of KhNPU named after H.S. Skovoroda, 54, 83-92.

[17] Kucherenko, S.M., & Khomenko, N.M. (2017). Organizational features of socio-psychological adaptation of servicemen who participated in hostilities to the conditions of peaceful life. Problems of Extreme and Crisis Psychology, 21, 66-74.

[18] Law of Ukraine No. 5067-VI “On Employment of the Population”. (2012, July). Retrieved from http://zakon.rada.gov. ua/laws/show/5067-17.

[19] Medvid, M.M. (2010). Methodological principles of formation of the labor market of military personnel: Socio-economic essence, criteria and principles of separation. Bulletin of Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin, 884, 31-38.

[20] Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.mil.gov.ua/en.

[21] Semigina, T., Pavlenko, I., & Ovsyannikova, Y. (2017). Protection of mental health in conditions of war. Kyiv: Nash Format. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/38226841.

[22] Shapovalova, T.V. (2014). Social capital as the foundation for social policy in Ukraine. Social Work in Ukraine: Theory and Practice, 3-4, 42-46.

[23] Shcherbinin, O. (2009). Social policy or social populism? Army of Ukraine, 11(113), 14-16.

[24] Shevchuk, O., & Mentukh, N. (2017). Legal aspects of the professional orientation of ATO participants. Actual Problems of Jurisprudence, 3(11), 96-99.

[25] Shkuropatskyi, V. I. (2016). World experience of administrative and legal regulation of social protection of officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Bulletin of Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin, 22, 117-120.

[26] Vorona, P.V. (2018). Ways of social rehabilitation of participants in the Ukrainian-Russian war in Eastern Ukraine: Foreign experience. Bulletin of the NUTSZ of Ukraine, 3, 109-120.

[27] Yena, A.I. (2014). Relevance and organizational principles of medical and psychological rehabilitation of participants in an anti-terrorist operation. Medical Assistance in the Conditions of Military Operations, 1, 5-14.

[28] Zhidchenko, K.P. (2016). Comparative analysis of mechanisms of legal regulation of payments related to the risk to the life of military personnel in the developed countries of the world. Young Scientist, 6, 238-242.

[29] Zhilenko, R. (2017). US experience in implementing the buddy system in working with veterans suffering from PTSD. Scientific Bulletin of the Uzhhorod National University, 2(41), 102-104.

[30] Zlyvkov, L.V. (2017). Psychological assistance to combatants: Historical context and modernity. Bulletin of the Institute of Psychology named after H.S. Kostyuk of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 23, 45-50.

Размещено на Allbest.ru