James Shields on the Harsh Truth: The Army Won’t Love You Back

Welcome back to Heroes Have Wings, where we bring you the stories of warriors who’ve dedicated their lives to service, sacrifice, and resilience. Today’s guest, Jimmy Shields, is no exception. A man forged in discipline, he grew up as the oldest of six in the MDW area, mastering the art of control, leadership, and perseverance early on. A lifelong outdoorsman and martial artist, Jimmy took that same drive into the U.S. Army, where he served with distinction for 25 years across multiple duty stations, including deployments that changed him forever.

But the true fight didn’t end with combat—it continued in adapting, growing, and learning to thrive beyond the uniform. Now a practicing paramedic in El Paso, Jimmy is still answering the call, proving that service doesn’t stop when the deployments do. A resilient, passionate, and opinionated leader, he’s here to talk about the reality of military life, the lessons it teaches, and how he’s giving back through Project Hero, a nonprofit helping veterans and civil servants heal. Get ready for an episode filled with wisdom, grit, and straight-up truth.

Jimmy needs our help raising money for Project Hero. At 3:09:22 into the episode, he discusses his goals and purpose for this fundraiser in great detail. He has two goals:

1️⃣ He needs help meeting his fundraising goal for Project Hero, which is $1500 that’s directly sent to Project Hero. He’s currently at $1300, so let’s raise that last $200 together: Here’s the link:
http://r2r.convio.net/site/TR?pg=pers...

2️⃣ His goal is to raise $1500 for his travel to Europe so he can take part in this fundraising event that’s going to positively impact many veterans and first responders’ lives. Here is the link:
http://spot.fund/pb69hlfsc