Major J.R. Perry joined the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 1977 as a State Trooper. His first assignments as a road Trooper were in Montgomery and Williamson Counties . In 1985 he transferred to the Training Division as a Trooper before being promoted in June of 1986 to Sergeant. He served there until 1995 when he transferred to the road as Sergeant in Montgomery County and later in Davidson County.

He served as the Administrative Sergeant for the Nashville District for almost two years until being promoted in 2003 to the post of Captain/Director of the Department of Safety Training Center, where he served until his appointment to the rank of Major in 2006. Major Perry is a graduate of the 23rd School of Police Staff and Command in 1989. He is married, has five children and eleven grandchildren.