PROFESSIONALIZATION OF A MILITARY PILOT: A SOCIO-PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

On the one hand, the military pilot is a professional soldier, that forms a separate professional category, and on the other - the aircraft operator. This profession includes specific tasks such as defence of the fatherland and serving the community, readiness to devote the highest values to the country. On the other hand, he is an important specialist who needs to have psychophysical inclinations, knowledge and skills in piloting complex aviation equipment. The conditions of his service in the air are unusual for the functioning of a human. He performs his tasks in conditions in which a person is naturally not adapted. He is subjected to a strong negative impact of environmental factors: overload, vibration, noise, limited visibility, the execution of tasks at different times of the day and night, and the like. Moreover, the use of expensive equipment and the implementation of dangerous air missions often in an unknown area cause tension and pressure. The conditions of this service mean that the profession of a pilot is rather elitist, and the service is extremely prestigious. This uniqueness also leads to the formation of strong social connections and examples of behavioural patterns characteristic of pilots. The functioning of the pilot in difficult situations is included in the professiogram of the pilot. The pilot may feel in his service a situation of deprivation arising from the inability to meet important physiological, psychological or social needs. Performing tasks of different degrees of complexity and in different conditions can be a source of physical and mental overload. In order to carry out air missions reliably, he must often overcome the inconveniences caused by independent reasons. In turn, performing missions over an enemy area under conditions of service in foreign missions may suffer the loss of important values, especially health and life. The fulfilment of these tasks requires constant attention and concentration, accuracy of actions and the adoption of various important decisions with limited time. Sometimes conflicts and misunderstandings arise in the pilot՚s team; there is a disorganizing factor in his professional activities. A special burden for the military pilot is stress, which is the body՚s response to the destructive effects of stimuli and reactions imposed on psychological or physical requirements, conditions for performing air tasks, and the threat of attack on the enemy on his territory. In the case of foreign missions this will lead to a burden arising from remoteness from relatives and constant functioning in conditions of danger not only during the flight, but also in the conditions of military service on the land, where there is a threat of possible terrorist attack.