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:
             Not surprisingly, most of the civilians deployed to Southwest Asia volunteered to serve there. But the civilian presence in the Gulf region meant more than moral support and filling in for soldiers. 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.
             2-24. As GEN Sullivan's comment indicates, selfless service is an essential component of teamwork. Team members give of themselves so that the team may succeed. In combat some soldiers give themselves completely so that their comrades can live and the mission c...