Ben Stein was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Westport, Connecticut as a teenager with his family. He found out he didn't do so well on a boat at the Naval Academy and opted to try out for the Marine Corp and went through Officer Candidate School (OCS). While serving on active duty, he was assigned to Okinawa, Japan, and was an Air Controller and also Maintenance Officer. After the service, he went to UT Austin for a graduate degree and opted to give the Reserves a try since they paid for tuition. After grad school, Ben moved to Denver to assist with a family business but opted to continue the Reserves simultaneously. A stint in Denver had Ben looking for other options, and he ended up in Chicago and assigned to Great Lakes. Eventually, he finished his multiple assignments at Great Lakes and moved back to Denver, CO with his wife, and began working with Mike Coffman, the former Congressman for the Aurora area. Ben has since retired from his military service but is consulting and spending time with his family.
