Teaching participants of special military operation (SMO) in the system of additional vocational education is one of the relevant problems in modern geopolitical situation. Educational process with the means of universal design for learning (UDL) ensures accessibility and openness of the educational process for SMO participants as a favorable factor for developing their adaptive potential. Purpose of this study is to identify and justify the effectiveness of using UDL in developing the adaptive potential in SMO participants in additional vocational education. The research was organized at the Tyumen State University. Survey involved 51 students of additional vocational program «Military Sports Training: Theory and Methods of Pedagogical Work» (252 academic hours). Following diagnostic methods were used: 1) non-standardized questionnaire for assessing the conditions for organizing the educational process using universal design for learning; 2) test-questionnaire «Study of volitional self-regulation» (Zverkov & Eydman, 2024); 3) test of life-meaning orientations (Leontyev, 2000); 4) life satisfaction scale (Diener et al., 1985); 5) non-standardized proactive behavior questionnaire. The diagnostic results showed that use of UDL in the process of additional vocational education increased the adaptive potential of SMO participants.