NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

10/06/2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES -Major Leon Pennington, battalion commander and professor of Military Science at Northwestern State University, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army during a ceremony Thursday. Pennington was sworn in by Col. David Sage, Garrison Commander at Fort Polk.

"This goes to him for his greater responsibility, and also to his family," Sage said.

Pennington has served the Army for 23 years. He joined the Ohio Army National Guard as a private before applying for active duty as a Warrant Officer Candidate (Flight) and completed his training as an honor graduate, becoming a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. After serving with the 4/7 Cavalry in South Korea, the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Ord, Calif., and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group (Airborne) in Fort Campbell, Ky., Pennington was selected to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga. He graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1989 and returned to the 160th SOAR where she served as Company Executive Officer and platoon leader. He participated with two combat tours, Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in southwest Asia.

Pennington completed the Aviation Officer Advanced Course and was assigned to the 2-24th Aviation Regiment at Hunger Army Airfield, Ga., where his duties included serving as Assistant Operations Officer, Air Planning Officer for the United Nations Mission to Haiti and Battalion Intelligence Officer. The 2-24th Aviation Regiment was designated as 2-3rd Aviation Regiment and Pennington took command of A Company in 1996. Later, he was selected for training as a Foreign Area Officer in western Europe and attended the Defense Language Institute for French in Fort Ord before he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, where he completed a resident study at the Ecole Militaire. He was then assigned as the executive officer of the 1-212th Aviation Regiment at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he completed the Uh-60 Blackhawk Instructor Pilot course and served as an instructor pilot for flight students. He was later assigned to the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker as Chief, Attach Division with duty as a board president for Centralized Accident Investigations and completed five Class A and B accidents in Alabama, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and Hawaii.

Pennington holds a B.A. in political science and a master's in West European studies. He has received numerous awards and decorations for meritorious service.

"I have had interesting experiences in the past and I am in the best unit right now. ROTC is about is training students in leadership," Pennington said. "Because of these cadets and the support from the administration at NSU, we are working to help these student, these cadets, become leaders."

Main Menu