Leadership
You have often heard the military referred to as "the service." As a member of the Army, you serve the United States. Selfless service means doing what's right for the nation, the Army, your organization, and your people-and putting these responsibilities above your own interests. The needs of the Army and the nation come first. This doesn't mean that you neglect your family or yourself; in fact, such neglect weakens a leader and can cause the Army more harm than good. Selfless service doesn't mean that you can't have a strong ego, high self-esteem, or even healthy ambition. Rather, selfless service means that you don't make decisions or take actions that help your image or your career but hurt others or sabotage the mission. The selfish superior claims credit for work his subordinates do; the selfless leader gives credit to those who earned it. The Army can't function except as a team, and for a team to work, the individual has to give up self-interest for the good of the whole.2-23. Soldiers are not the only members of the Army who display selfless service. DA civilians display this value as well. Then Army Chief of Staff, Gordon R. Sullivan assessed the DA civilian contribution to Operation Desert Storm this way:
Living honorably strengthens Army values, not only for yourself but for others as well: all members of an organization contribute to the organization's climate (which you'll read about in Chapter 3). The two NCOs knew there was no ground rescue force available, and they certainly knew there was no going back to their helicopter. As GEN Sullivan's comment indicates, selfless service is an essential component of teamwork. The expression "honorable person," therefore, refers to both the character traits an individual actually possesses and the fact that the community recognizes and respects them. Gulf War veterans say that many of the combat soldiers could owe their lives to the DA civilians who helped maintain equipment by speeding up the process of getting parts and other support from 60 logistics agencies Army-wide. Together, Army values describe the foundation essential to develop leaders of character. You made this promise publicly, and the standards-Army values-are also public. After MSG Gordon and SFC Shughart pulled the wounded from the wreckage, they established a perimeter, put themselves in the most dangerous position, and fought off a series of attacks. Honor provides the "moral compass" for character and personal conduct in the Army. Shughart lived Army values to the end; they were posthumously awarded Medals of Honor. For you as an Army leader, honor means putting Army values above self-interest, above career and comfort. And the requirement for selflessness doesn't decrease with one's rank; it increases. Implicitly, that's what you promised when you took your oath of office or enlistment.
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Acceptance Essays
