Pentagon Identifies Kentucky Soldier as 7th U.S. Death in Iran Strike at Saudi Base
A Kentucky soldier has been identified as the seventh American service member killed in the escalating U.S. conflict with Iran.
The Pentagon confirmed that Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, died March 8 from wounds he suffered in an Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
The strike happened March 1 during a wave of Iranian retaliation targeting U.S. military facilities across the region. Officials say Pennington was critically injured during the attack and later succumbed to his wounds days later.
According to the Department of Defense, Pennington served in the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado, part of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command responsible for missile warning and satellite communications.
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His death pushed the confirmed number of American combat fatalities tied to Iranian attacks in the current conflict to seven, following a separate drone strike that killed six U.S. service members at a base in Kuwait earlier the same day.
“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” commanding general Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey said.
Pennington enlisted in the Army in 2017 shortly after graduating high school and served nearly a decade before his death. Military officials said he will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and had received several commendations during his service.
A dignified transfer ceremony returning his remains to the United States took place at Dover Air Force Base, attended by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and senior military leaders.
The attack that wounded Pennington remains under investigation as tensions between the United States and Iran continue across the region.
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