One of the seven U.S. service members confirmed killed so far in the Iran war was an Army soldier based out of Fort Carson in southern Colorado, according to military officials.
Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, a 26-year-old man from Glendale, Kentucky, died Sunday from injuries he sustained in a March 1 attack on U.S. troops stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, .
“It is with a heavy heart that we render a final salute to U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson, Colorado, in honor of his service to the nation,” . “We mourn a life cut short and extend our heartfelt gratitude and sympathies to the family, friends, and community of Sgt. Pennington as we honor his ultimate sacrifice.”
Flags in Colorado will be flown at half-staff on the day of Pennington’s memorial, which has not yet been announced, to honor the soldier’s service and bravery, Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.
Pennington grew up in Glendale, Kentucky — an unincorporated town of about 300 residents south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.
He joined the Army after graduating from Central Hardin High School in 2017, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology pathway, district spokesperson John Wright told the Associated Press.
“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” Pennington’s former automotive tech instructor, Tom Pitt, said. “Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.”
Mike Bell, a retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, said he’d known Pennington since he was a toddler and got a call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was hurt.
“I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said. But he said Tim Pennington called again that evening to ask for prayers as his son’s condition was worsening, and then later told him the soldier had succumbed to his injuries.
“He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it. Does that make sense?”
Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson in June 2025, .
The unitap mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” and supporting the U.S. Army with “multidomain planning and operations,” according to the .
“Pennington is a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a .
Among Pennington’s awards and decorations were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.
“He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved,” Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, a commanding general at Space and Missile Defense Command, . “That makes him nothing less than a hero, and he will always be remembered that way.”
Col. Michael Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, described Pennington as “a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty.”
All seven casualties confirmed from the war in Iran were Army soldiers. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a command center in a Kuwaiti port.
President Donald Trump joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base on Saturday for the dignified transfer of those six U.S. soldiers.
The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in action, is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing” he had to do as president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
