Person
Jim Penniston
Also known as Penniston, Jim Pennington
- Staff Sergeant, U.S. Air Force Security Police, RAF Woodbridge
Jim Penniston was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force Security Police at RAF Woodbridge, England. Early on 26 December 1980 he led the patrol, with John Burroughs and Edward Cabansag, that went into Rendlesham Forest after lights were reported, and he is the only witness who says he touched a craft.
He describes a small triangular craft, about 9 feet on a side and 7 feet tall, hovering just off the ground, with glyph-like markings and a smooth, warm metallic surface. He made plaster casts of three indentations the next morning, which Charles Halt later investigated with a Geiger counter. He says his photographs came back from the base lab overexposed, the patrol lost about 45 minutes, and AFOSI interrogated them and told them to sanitize their account. He says he developed health problems within weeks but denied radiation exposure to doctors because of his orders.
He testified at the 2007 National Press Club panel and the 2013 Citizen Hearing, where he said he never believed in UFOs "and I still don't", calling it a craft of unknown origin. His account is not independently corroborated, and his lawyer says FOIA requests found no records on him. Sceptics attribute the first night's lights to a fireball and the Orford Ness lighthouse.
Sources: Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (2013) · National Press Club (2007) · Halt interviews · Rendlesham incident record
Facts and claims
- claimed Penniston says that in December 1980 at Rendlesham he walked around a craft about 9 by 9 feet, saw glyphs on it and touched it: smooth like metal and warmer than the freezing air. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 1:06:30
- claimed He says he never believed in UFOs “and I still don't”, describing it as a craft of unknown origin. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 1:05:30
- claimed He says he developed health problems within weeks, and answered “no” to questions about radiation exposure because he was under orders to keep the incident secret. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 39:10
- claimed He says he paced the craft off at about 9 by 9 feet and 6½–7 feet tall, too small in his view to be piloted, and that it hovered about two feet off the ground with no landing gear and did not move when pushed. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 29:25
- claimed He says AFOSI told them to give the wing commander a sanitized account, and that none of them was relieved under the Personnel Reliability Program, which he takes as a sign they were believed. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 1:16:15
- claimed He says their watches were 45 minutes off and radio contact was lost for over 45 minutes; Charles Halt believes the patrolmen's memories were altered and that there was probably more than an hour of lost time. — Jim Penniston Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 1:40:20
- claimed His lawyer Patrick Frascogna told the 2013 hearing that Penniston's photographs of the craft came back from the base lab overexposed, and that FOIA requests to the Air Force, DIA, NSA, AFOSI and the VA found no records on him or John Burroughs. Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 at 19:34
- claimed Charles Halt shows a plaster cast Penniston made of one of the three indentations the morning after, and estimates whatever made them weighed 1,000 pounds or more. — Charles Halt Source: Rendlesham Forest UFO sighting: Eyewitness Colonel Charles Halt at 1:02:09
Connected files
Books
- Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident (authored)
- The Rendlesham Enigma, Book 1: Timeline (authored)
Claims
- The U.S. government has deliberately spread false or misleading information about UFOs (asserts)
- A craft of unknown origin landed in Rendlesham Forest, beside RAF Woodbridge, in December 1980 (asserts)
- Close encounters with UAP have physically injured people (asserts)
Events
- National Press Club panel on UFOs and aviation safety (testified in)
People
- Charles Halt (fellow witness) — Halt investigated two nights after Penniston, Burroughs and Cabansag reported a landed craft
- John Burroughs (fellow witness) — He led the patrol, with Burroughs and Edward Cabansag, into Rendlesham Forest on 26 December 1980
Incidents
- Rendlesham Forest incident (witness)
Hearings & briefings
- Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (testified at)
Videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Closing Remarks (appears in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 1 (appears in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Rendlesham Forest Encounter, Part 2 (appears in)
- Rendlesham Forest UFO sighting: Eyewitness Colonel Charles Halt (discussed in)
- Col Charles Halt goes on the record (discussed in)
- National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters (appears in)