Dennis Perkins, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a physician assistant/physician associate (PA) who utilizes his military service leadership and operational skills, integrated with his clinical expertise in acute care and emergency medicine to provide patient care in adverse locations. Combining these talents makes Perkins an effective clinician, able mentor, trainer, and leader in addition to being an effective clinic administrator and operational planner.
The oldest of 3 brothers, Dennis Perkins was born in Jacksonville, Florida, into a Navy family. During his childhood, his family lived in Memphis, Tennessee; San Diego, California; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida: and finally in Northwest Florida. As a child, he played and coached little league baseball, was in a square dance club, and a roller & figure skating dancer. While in high school, Perkins worked at the roller rink to pay for his equipment and graduated from high school in Milton, Florida.
Following high school, Perkins had planned to attend college, but his scholarship fell through. He says “…dad had been a sailor, grandpa had been a Marine, so I wasn’t going in either of those directions…”. Initially he qualified to be an Army aviation warrant officer, but because the Vietnam War had ended and manpower was no longer an issue, any waivers for his flight physical (vision) were no longer accepted. He instead enlisted.
For 23 years, Perkins called the Army home and was assigned to a variety of positions. His final tactical assignment was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he was an Infantry platoon sergeant and company first sergeant. His last detail assignment was as an Army ROTC instructor at the University of Texas – Austin. There he taught a variety of subjects including leadership, citizenship, fieldcraft, and small unit tactics. He was the team coach for the marksmanship and “Ranger Challenge” teams and several of his former students continue to serve as active-duty Army officers.
While on active duty, Perkins earned numerous military awards and decorations, including an Army Meritorious Service Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, six Army Good Conduct Medals, a Korean Defense Service Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, four Overseas Service Medals, a Combat Infantryman Badge, an Expert Infantryman Badge, an Air Assault Badge, and an Expert Marksman Badge.
After Perkins retired from the Army, a Veterans Affairs (VA) counselor offered him several educational opportunities, one of which was a path forward into the PA profession. Perkins graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree as a PA. Perkins says “…going to school as a 45-year-old, after a successful military career, in a totally unrelated field…an old dog CAN learn new tricks…” Recognizing the need for an advanced degree, Perkins attended a PA bridge course at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, completing his Master of Physician Assistant Studies. His clinical experience includes allergy/ENT, urgent care, primary care, emergency medicine, surgery and ambulatory care.
Perkins has worked clinically at Fort Drum, New York; Tacoma, Washington; Fort Lewis, Washington; Honolulu and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. While on one of his assignments in Hawaii, Perkins worked with Vincent Tenorio, PA-C, who was “…a mentor of mine…a sharing and kind man…” Perkins has also provided medical care in combat zones in the Helmand Province and at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan and at Balad Air Base in Iraq. Following combat zone assignments, Perkins provided medical coverage at Amundsen-Scott Base, South Pole Station during the austral winter twice and once during the austral summer. Amundsen-Scott Station is part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) United States Antarctic Program (USAP).
Perkins is currently on an Antarctica assignment at McMurdo Station. McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the USAP, a branch of the NSF. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,200 residents. The population fluctuates seasonally – during the “Antarctic night” there are fewer than two hundred people. It serves as one of three year-round United States Antarctic science facilities. Personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station usually first pass through McMurdo. Perkins will be “on-ice” at McMurdo until aircraft are able to resume flights to Antarctica in August-September of 2026.
Perkins is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Associates (DFAAPA), Fellow of the Society of Emergency PAs (SEMPA) and a member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). He has received five Medical Command awards for his clinical practice, four VA Performance Awards and four Antarctic Service Medals with three of them having a “winter-over” designator. Although Perkins has received numerous awards, he states he is most proud of his wife and daughter who followed the same path as he did by becoming a PA after active-duty military service.
Outside of medicine, Perkins enjoys scuba diving, hiking, running, weightlifting, riding motorcycles, sailing and “amateur” photography. He and his wife Tamatha Perkins enjoy traveling, working on their farm, and spending time with their seven children and twenty-six grandchildren.
This biography was written by Bruna Varalli-Claypool with the assistance of Dennis Perkins. It was submitted to the Society in April 2026. All photographs are courtesy of Mr. Perkins.
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