Jim Penniston
James W. Penniston was a United States Air Force Security Police staff sergeant with the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England, when shortly after midnight on 26 December 1980 he led Airman First Class John Burroughs and Airman Edward Cabansag on foot into Rendlesham Forest to investigate reported lights. Over approximately forty-five minutes he conducted a close-range examination of a triangular craft on the forest floor, took photographs on 35mm film, made notebook entries describing its dimensions and surface markings, and has stated he touched the exterior. He served the USAF for over twenty years and retired in November 1993 after postings at Bentwaters, Ellsworth AFB, Bitburg (where he served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm), and Grissom AFB. He held US TOP SECRET/SCI and NATO COSMIC/ATOMAL clearances for the majority of his career and co-authored Encounter in Rendlesham Forest (St. Martin's Press, 2014) with John Burroughs and Nick Pope.
A Life
James W. Penniston was born in 1954 in Monroe, Wisconsin. He entered the United States Air Force in 1973 and was initially assigned to the SAC Elite Guard in Omaha, Nebraska. His subsequent postings included RAF Alconbury in England, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana (where he served as a flight security controller for Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles), and, from June 1980, the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England. He held US TOP SECRET/SCI and NATO COSMIC/ATOMAL security clearances for the majority of his career.
After the Rendlesham Forest incident Penniston remained at Bentwaters until 1984, serving as NCOIC of Security Police Plans and Programs. He was subsequently posted to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, Bitburg Air Base in West Germany (where he served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm), and Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana. He retired in November 1993 after over twenty years of service. He co-authored Encounter in Rendlesham Forest (St. Martin's Press, 2014) with John Burroughs and Nick Pope, and The Rendlesham Enigma: Book 1: Timeline (2019) with Gary Osborn.
On UAP
Shortly after midnight on 26 December 1980, Penniston was briefed by Staff Sergeant Steffens that lights had been reported in Rendlesham Forest, east of RAF Woodbridge's East Gate. Penniston, as the senior security officer on duty, led Airman First Class John Burroughs and Airman Edward Cabansag on foot into the forest to investigate. In a clearing they encountered a triangular craft approximately nine feet long by six and a half feet high. Penniston described blue and yellow lights on the exterior, radio interference, and an air that felt electrically charged. He conducted a close-range physical examination of the craft over approximately forty-five minutes, circling it, taking photographs on 35mm film (which he subsequently described as overexposed when processed), and making entries in his security notebook. He touched the surface of the craft.
There was a bright light emanating from an object on the forest floor. As we approached it on foot, a silhouetted triangular craft about 9 feet long by 6.5 feet high came into view. After roughly 45 minutes the light from the craft began to intensify. Burroughs and I then took a defensive position away from the craft as it lifted off the ground without any noise or air disturbance. It maneuvered through the trees and shot off at an unbelievable rate of speed. It was gone in the blink of an eye.Jim Penniston, statement at the National Press Club, Washington, DC, 2007.
He described symbols on the exterior. "On this smooth exterior shell, there is writing of some kind," he read from his notebook in a 2002 interview with Eric Stewart. "I'm not sure what it is. Size 3-inch lettering. May be symbols that stretch for a length of 2 feet. Maybe a little more." The craft lifted off without sound and departed.
Penniston's notebook from the night contains his description of the craft's shape, dimensions, lights, and surface markings. In October 2010, during a filming session for the History Channel's Ancient Aliens series, Penniston showed additional pages of his notebook containing approximately sixteen pages of ones and zeros. He stated he had written the binary sequences on 27 December 1980, the day after the encounter, and described the codes as "a direct result of contact with a physical craft," communicated when he "physically touched the craft's glyphs." The binary code material was first publicly broadcast on 30 December 2010.
Penniston has stated that he underwent multiple debriefings by Air Force Office of Special Investigations personnel and other non-Air Force agents in the days following the incident.
Career Record
- 1954, Born, Monroe, Wisconsin.
- 1973, Entered the United States Air Force.
- SAC Elite Guard, Omaha, Nebraska.
- 1975, RAF Alconbury, England.
- 1977, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Flight Security Controller, Minuteman ICBM.
- June 1980, Assigned to 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.
- 26 December 1980, First responder, Rendlesham Forest incident. Notebook entries and photographs.
- Post-incident, NCOIC Security Police Plans and Programs, RAF Bentwaters (to 1984).
- 1984, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.
- 1987, Bitburg Air Base, West Germany. Served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
- Post-Gulf War, Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana.
- November 1993, Retired from the USAF after over twenty years of service.
- 2007, Statement at the National Press Club, Washington, DC.
- 2010, Binary code pages from notebook disclosed publicly (Ancient Aliens, 30 December 2010).
- 2014, Published Encounter in Rendlesham Forest with John Burroughs and Nick Pope (St. Martin's Press).
- 2019, Published The Rendlesham Enigma: Book 1: Timeline with Gary Osborn.
Document Trail
Penniston's security notebook from the night of 26 December 1980 is the primary artefact. It contains his contemporaneous description of the craft, sketches of the symbols, and, per his account, approximately sixteen pages of binary code written on 27 December 1980.
Nick Pope, John Burroughs, and Jim Penniston, Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014). ISBN 9781250063311. Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn, The Rendlesham Enigma: Book 1: Timeline (2019). ISBN 9781081237707.
Penniston's 2007 National Press Club statement is the most widely cited formal account in his own words.
In the Archive
- The Rendlesham Forest Incident, 1980, case exhibition.
- Charles Halt, Deputy Base Commander and Night 2 patrol lead.
- United Kingdom country profile.
- United States country profile.
