Ben Smith

Ben Smith (or Ben the Soldier) is a soldier that Dee met online and dated during Season Five.

Season Five
Ben arrived by bus in Philadelphia to meet with "Desert Rose", 's online alias. When he arrived, he was suffering from an injured knee and was in a wheelchair. This prompted Dee to deny that she was Desert Rose, and claim instead that she was Desert Rose's friend.

Later, Dee tried to set up her friend,, with Ben. To Dee's surprise, Ben stood and greeted Artemis. Dee then told Artemis she changed her mind and to move out of the way but Artemis refused. Later when Ben and Artemis attended a wrestling match Dee clarified that she was, in fact, Desert Rose.





Later, Dee told that she had been dating Ben. They saw him waiting in a car in the summer heat for her, without cracking the windows. Dennis and Mac told her that Ben was probably running The D.E.N.N.I.S. System on her. She grew suspicious and wanted to be independent, so she left him during a picnic and got lost in the woods. The next day at a carnival she tried to make him jealous by flirting with a carny. He left her because she is "a mean person."

Season Six
Ben was a guest on Frank and Dee's podcast.

Later, Ben was rounded up as one of the potential fathers for Dee's baby, where he reveals that since their break-up, Dee has repeatedly pressured him into sex using harassment and bullying, leaving him an emotionally fragile mess. He is later seen at the party doing blow with Bill Ponderosa.

Season Nine
Dennis and Mac -- and then, later, Charlie and Dee -- try to get themselves out of the financial scams that they have gotten themselves into by triggering Ben's PTSD, which they both think will render him "putty in [their] hands". However, it turns out that Ben is not only free from PTSD, but he thought that his time in the Army during the war was fun due to actually being a computer programmer instead of a combatant and getting to travel the world and see exotic places.

Appearances



 * : The Gang Wrestles for the Troops, The D.E.N.N.I.S. System
 * : Mac's Big Break, Dee Gives Birth
 * : Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare
 * : Charlie's Home Alone, The Gang Wins the Big Game
 * It’s Always Sunny: Gang Goes Mobile

Trivia
shorts- something that has since become a running joke throughout the series.
 * Ben's last name is not spoken in dialogue but his last name was shown on his uniform ("SMITH | U.S. ARMY").
 * Since Frank gave Ben a pair of jean shorts as a little "thank you"-gift, he is constantly seen wearing those
 * Ben likes to have his face painted.
 * Ben is a very soft and vulnerable person.
 * Ben was a computer programmer in the Army during the war, and saw no combat.
 * Ben apparently sleeps in a 19th century style gown and nightcap, which the gang describes as looking like Ebeneezer Scrooge

Quotes
"Dee, I don't like you."

- ben

"You're a mean person."

- ben


 * , The D.E.N.N.I.S. System




 * Z (to smiling Ben): Man... I used to have some jean shorts like that too. I slept in them shorts, man!.. Eventually, I blew the crotch out of them things. But you CAN'T wear 'em every day and expect for 'em to hold up!.. That was some nice-ass denim too. I miss them shorts... But you... you GOTTA take 'em off every now and then. You gotta take 'em off, son!..
 * , Dee Gives Birth