A soldier with the 3rd Infantry Division says he was able to use Army regulations to benefit him when his commander pursued having him removed from the Army.
Then-Private First Class Delijah Porter says his commander was in the process of chaptering him out of the Army through a court-martial in 2019.
“So I’ve been in the Army probably going on three years…and I’m getting ready to get out,” Porter said on his YouTube channel.
“Now the terms I’m getting out under is, um, my commander told me other than otherable. At first, it was a general other than honorable [discharge],” he added.
Porter did not cite a specific incident that prompted his commander to start the process of separating him from the Army but said he did find himself in trouble a lot.
“I can’t stay out of trouble I guess; I’m just no good,” he said.
At the time, he was 22 years old and acknowledged he was “at a crossroads in his life.”
Before joining the Army he says he was studying Business(Pre-Law) at Arizona State University but did not say why he left the school.
He claims the Army offered him a $24,000 bonus to reenlist for another four years but said he still thought he had a chance at playing college football.
His high school athletic recruiting profile reveals he did play football for Carson Senior High School in Carson, California.
When asked what his dreams were, he said, “to do whatever it takes to make it to the NFL.”
During the two years he started on the varsity team, the school placed second in their conference.
Last year, he provided an update on his separation from the Army and what he was doing after.
He revealed he was able to exit the Army with an honorable discharge and received all the benefits associated with an honorable discharge, such as the Post-911 GI Bill.
“I’m using my GI Bill to go to Georgia State and I’ve been getting paid to go to school by the military,” he said.
He claimed he outsmarted his commander by using Army regulations to avoid legal action being used to separate him from the military.
“That’s what made me want to be a lawyer because I know how to use law to protect people’s rights from being violated,” he said.
According to his story, it seems the global shutdown in 2020 made a significant impact on his outcome as well.
“I was pending court-martial for patterns of misconduct” when the pandemic began he said.
“The JAG (Judge Advocate General) was held up and my paperwork was pending to be processed through JAG but JAG was closed,” he said.
He waited for a court date to be set but it was never set because of the global shutdown. The Salty Soldier was able to confirm there are no court-martial records for him.
As he waited, the end of his enlistment approached and he claimed his leadership tried to extend his time in the Army while pursuing the court-martial.
“I told them, by regulation, y’all can not keep me here whether I’m pending legal action in the military or not,” he said.
He claims even the Military Police attempted to keep him on post but eventually approved him leaving after he showed them the regulation.
In March of 2023, he was hired by Atlanta-based law firm, Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC as a litigation paralegal.
“Delijah specializes in personal injury law, with a focus on the Hair Relaxer Litigation involving major brands,” their website stated in June of 2024.
The Salty Soldier was able to speak with Porter, who stated he graduated from Georgia State this May and is still working as a litigation paralegal with Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC.
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