Features of Psychological Reactions of a Combatant under Conditions of Combat Stress

Key words: war, combatants, stress-factors, motivation, panic, fighter Any battle is a specific situation for its direct participants, because there are neither similar nor standard conditions in a war situation. The dynamics of the battle is manifested in all forms of military operations: in defense and attack, air and tank strikes, artillery, small arms, machine-gun fire, unexpected operations and the use of new weapons. Along with this, it is influenced by the nature of the location, the time of year and day, climate and weather, which give the battle a variety of forms and bring their own specifics. Thus, the analysis of the influence of modern combat factors on the psyche and behavior of people allows us to conclude that a dangerous situation inevitably causes mental tension in combatants. Stress can have both a mobilizing and a depressing effect on a fighter's psyche. The nature of that influence depends on motivation, individual psychological stability, combat experience, stress resistance and the ability to withstand stress. The main psychological difficulties are caused by the factors of real combat, which have a depressing effect on the psyche of the combatants or lead to an overexcited state and an increase in the level of neuro-emotional stress.