Army Colonel Benjamin L. Kilgore currently serves at the Chief of Staff for Defense Logistics Agency Energy located at Fort Belvoir, VA. He was born in Winter Park, Florida, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduating from Miami University in 2001, COL Kilgore commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer. He is a graduate of the ADA Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, Airborne School, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College (AWC).
Prior to attending the AWC, he was assigned to Army Futures Command, where he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff G4 for Joint Modernization Command at Fort Bliss, Texas. Previous non-command assignments include service as an ADA Launcher Platoon Leader, Battery Executive Officer, and Battalion S4 with 3-43 ADA at Fort Bliss, Texas; Battalion S4 with the 525th Military Police Battalion in support of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Deputy Support Operations Officer, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Bamberg, Germany; G3 Chief of Operations, 3d Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Battalion Executive Officer for Army Field Support Battalion-Drum, Fort Drum, New York; Logistics Support Team Chief with duty at Fort Irwin, California, 404th Army Field Support Brigade; and Professor of Military Science with duty at North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.
COL Kilgore commanded at both the company and battalion level. His company command occurred from 2007-2009 with the Forward Support Troop, 1-91 Cavalry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, located in Schweinfurt, Germany. During this assignment, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2019, COL Kilgore took command of the Army Field Support Battalion-Hawaii, located at Schofield Barracks, with direct support to the 25th Infantry Division.
He holds a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the AWC, a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from the University of Louisville and a Masters in Managerial Logistics from North Dakota State University. His decorations and awards include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC), the Meritorious Service Medal with 6 OLC, the Army Commendation Medal with 5 OLC, the Army Achievement Medal with OLC, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, and the Combat Action Badge. The Air Defense Artillery branch also inducted COL Kilgore into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.