ARTICLE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

eTorch ArchivesMay 2007

Good Samaritan Guardsman Will Leave Afghanistan a Better Place

Life doesn’t just happen to Scott Delius. He shapes it to a purpose, which is how he finds himself in Afghanistan.

Delius (’91) temporarily shelved his law practice in Atlanta to serve with the Army National Guard, which is part of the NATO coalition training the Afghan National Army.

The events of 9/ll inspired Delius to join the National Guard. “Our country was attacked, and I felt a responsibility to help defend it,” he says.

“My father is retired military, so I’m sure that contributed to my patriotic feelings.”
He tried to enlist in the Army Reserves but wasn’t accepted because of a knee problem. Eventually he got into the National Guard and volunteered for the NATO mission.

His official duty is at the judge advocate general office at the Kabul Military Training Center. But he spends a lot of his free time on humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people. Recently, he spearheaded an effort to supply clothing, shoes, and tents for Afghanis whose living conditions are like nothing he’s seen before. The results pleased and astounded him.

“I was overwhelmed by the response of my family, friends, and complete strangers.” Colleagues in the Atlanta legal community and his wife, Allyson Garnett, took the lead in responding to Delius’s call.

“I have received 200 large boxes of sorted clothes,” he told eTorch in early April. “We have received almost $4,000 in donations. Much of that money was used to ship the clothing to me.”
On his blog, Delius described a mission on Easter Sunday to deliver aid packages.

“This particular mission evolved after a flood devastated a section of downtown Kabul. We were told that over 6,000 people lost their homes. A police chief contacted our intelligence officer and asked for assistance,” Delius said. The troops delivered food and clothing as well as shovels, tarps, saws, and hammers the residents needed to rebuild their homes.

But humanitarian assistance has to be delivered with an eye to constant security threats.

“These missions take a lot of planning,” Delius said. “You can't just roll out to a neighborhood and drop stuff off. There is a constant threat level in Kabul. In addition to getting the goods organized, you have to pick personnel, vehicles, weaponry, plan routes, plan for attacks, and develop strategy.”

At the end of the white knuckle convoy though, the supplies finally reached the people—a gratifying experience for Delius and his colleagues.

“I helped one woman and a beautiful little girl carry their packages,” he said. “After I put them down, this sweet little girl turned to me and said ‘tashakur’ - which means ‘thank you.’ This was the highlight of my day, and maybe the greatest moment of this entire deployment.”

Delius’s “day job” of training the Afghan army finds him working directly with Afghan officers to develop their legal system.

“We are building an entire court system from the ground up. Most days are spent working with them, helping them with current cases, developing training programs, and building their legal system.”

He also is the command judge advocate to the American commander at his base, Camp Alamo, helping with investigations and disciplinary issues and giving legal assistance to soldiers.

Delius’s record at UT foreshadowed his desire to serve others. He received the Chancellor’s Citation for Extraordinary Campus Leadership and Service. He was a student orientation assistant, a resident assistant, a student senator and a member of the All Campus Events committee.

“I have a great love for the University of Tennessee that was inspired by my grandfather, John J. Delius Sr. (’39),” he says. The elder Delius earned both undergraduate and law degrees from UT. “He was a lifelong Vol and was buried wearing the UT tie I gave him when I was a freshman,” Scott Delius said.

The Memphis native plans to be back in the States in June and says he’ll resume his law practice after some “decompression” time.

Delius said his time in Afghanistan is making him a more tolerant person. During a recent three-hour wait to mail packages back home, he got a chair and a book to make the time more pass more quickly.

“I will add post office wait times to the growing list of things that will no longer bother me when I return home,” he said. “This list currently includes cell phone service, internet speed, and potholes.”