It’s been 35 years since Chaplain (Maj.) Charlie Shields earned his Ranger tab as a young private. In the time since, he’s served in some of the Army’s top units.
His achievements include service as a noncommissioned officer in the 75th Ranger Regiment, becoming a long-range surveillance team leader, and returning to the Army as a chaplain in units like the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 7th Special Forces Group, and currently 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
But Charlie Shields' proudest achievement isn’t his own.
“I’ve served in the best units in the Army, I’ve done the best jobs in the Army, and I’ve graduated from great schools,” Charlie Shields told Military Times. “But I told my wife, I think I’m prouder of the fact that my son is a second-generation Ranger than of anything I did.”
Second Lt. Seth Shields graduated Ranger School exactly three-and-a-half decades, to the day, after his father. Read more.