Formation of officer loyalty through the institution of aides-de-camp in the Ukrainian military

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive historical and institutional study of the processes of officer loyalty formation in the Ukrainian military through the prism of the institution of aides-de-camp. The relevance of the topic stems from the need to reconsider traditional models of military governance and internal mechanisms of cohesion within the officer corps, given the transformations the Ukrainian army has undergone over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The purpose of the study is to identify the role of the institution of aides-de-camp as a specific element of military organization in shaping officers’ personal, professional, and institutional loyalty to the command structure, the state, and military values. The methodological framework of the research is based on the combination of historical-genetic, institutional, and comparative-historical methods, which made it possible to trace the evolution of the functions of aides-de-camp in different historical periods and to analyze their influence on the system of service relations, discipline, and the vertical structure of subordination within the army. The study relies on historical sources, regulatory documents, and scholarly works in the fields of military history and the theory of military governance. The results of the researchsubstantiate that the institution of aides-de-camp played a significantly broader role than a purely auxiliary or clerical one, performing the functions of an intermediary between the command and the officer environment, a carrier of managerial culture, and a mechanism for transmitting value orientations. It is shown that proximity to the command staff, participation in decision-making processes, and involvement in informal managerial practices contributed to the formation of stable personal loyalty, which over time transformed into institutional commitment to military service and the state. It is established that historical models of the aides-de-camp corps influenced the formation of officer identity, behavioral norms, and service ethics. The conclusions emphasize that the institution of aides-de-camp constitutes a crucial historical factor in the formation of officer loyalty and deserves further scholarly consideration in the context of the development of the modern Ukrainian armed forces. The results may be used to deepen research in military-historical studies and to understand the continuity of managerial and value-based models within the officer corps.