Newsweek. He said counterterrorism was his "bread and butter," noting that the work always piqued his interest.But after graduating high school and looking at his options, Talbott was blocked from serving because he identified as transgender.
In 2011, he started transitioning socially, and in 2012 he took the first medical steps toward his transition."I just kind of accepted that this was something that was not an option on the table for me," Talbott told Newsweek.This week, Talbott – along with five other active-duty service members and two who would like to join the military – filed a lawsuit against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and secretaries of the different branches of the military, kicking off what is likely to be a long legal battle that could wind its way to the Supreme Court — again.In 2016, toward the end of the Obama administration, the Pentagon overturned the long-standing ban on transgender troops and allowed them to serve openly, providing access to medical care including gender transition procedures deemed medically necessary by their doctors."That was absolutely thrilling," Talbott, now 31, told Newsweek. "It took me a while to find a recruiter who was willing to work with a transgender individual with this policy being so new in the United States and with them having no experience processing a transgender individual before, and with the medical entrance processing stations not having any experience with transgender individuals.