Although pronunciation is part of the curriculum in many education programs, it is often left without attention. The article is dedicated to the study of peculiarities of formation and improvement of foreign language phonetic competence of border guard cadets while studying a foreign language for specific purposes. Phonetic difficulties related to the English language pronunciation, which are common mistakes for cadets are analyzed. Requirements for pronunciation of cadets based on the principle of approximation are determined. The method of formation of phonetic competence of cadets of non-linguistic faculties of higher military educational institutions is considered, under which the teaching of pronunciation is aimed at developing future specialists orthoepic skills of foreign language for specific purposes. The scientific and methodological literature on the topic is researched and the ways of formation of phonetic competence of cadets are observed, following the general methodical principle of communicativeness in the context of professionally oriented study of English. It is advisable to teach oral professional speech through the acquisition of phonetic, lexical and grammatical language levels in the system of various pre-text and post-text communication exercises, built on the principle of speech situations and aimed at improving the orthoepic norms of English, learning a special language understanding of the text, developing communication skills and mastering language material. The purpose of phonetics training in military higher education institutions is to embed in the long-term memory of cadets the normative composition of the pronunciation elements (phonemes and intones) and to automate their selection and combining. In order to acquire the necessary skills, it is advisable to form the phonetic competence of the cadets at different stages of the class, using different forms of work and types of exercises aimed at improving the cadets' auditory and professional skills.