Perry Blackburn

LTC (R) |Commissioned Class of 1982

Perry Blackburn, the oldest son of Rita and SGM (ret) Perry Blackburn SR. spent most of his youth in Germany as an Army brat, moving to Jacksonville, Arkansas for his senior year of high school. In 1980, after High School, he attended basic training and enrolled at the University of Arkansas. He joined the Razorback Brigade and was commissioned in 1982 as an Infantry officer. During his time in the military, he commanded soldiers from platoon to battalion level. As a Green Beret combat diver, he was one of a few soldiers to make a dive in a combat zone prior to his retirement in 2014.

Early in his Special Forces career, Perry was attached to 7th Special Forces Group and deployed to Panama during Just Cause and Promote Liberty. Most of his Special Forces time was with 5th Special Forces Group in Fort Campbell, KY. During that time, he deployed to numerous combat zones spending most of his time in Africa and the Middle East.

Perry was in the invasion force in Afghanistan and Iraq and served multiple tours in both areas. As a Green Beret, he was one of the first Americans on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11. He was one of the famed Horse soldiers who rode into the country on horseback, as featured in the film “12 Strong”.

After Perry retired in 2014, he took his Arabic language skills to the United Arab Emirates and trained the Emirates to defeat Yemen insurgents. He is the CEO and founder of AFGfree, a nonprofit organization that feeds, shelters, and evacuates American citizens, allies, and partners in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew in 2021.

Perry and his wife Constance raised a fire team of 4: Trey, Victor, Stormie, and Breanna, and now have eight grandchildren. Perry’s family has a long line of service to our nation. Both his grandfathers, father, brother Tim, and sons served. His oldest son Trey was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Mosul, Iraq, as an infantryman.