Pamper the top officer's clique (6)
I believe the answer is:
cosset
'pamper' is the definition.
(I know that pamper can be written as cosset)
'top officer's clique' is the wordplay.
'top officer's' becomes 'CO's' (commanding officer).
'clique' becomes 'set' (a clique is a social set).
'cos'+'set'='COSSET'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for cosset that I've seen before include "Pamper, coddle (6)" , "Overindulge" , "Indulge - pamper" , "Protect overindulgently" , "lamb" .)