impossible. nicholas talbot is a transgender man and an aspiring air force recruit. nicholas, thank you so much, sir, for being here. how soon before you make that call to sign up? yeah, thank you so much for having me. i m actually currently in touch with an air force recruiter whom i ve been working with for a little bit over a year. and i m hoping to be on the phone with him first thing tuesday morning. so exciting. last july, you ll recall the president tweeted this. after consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the united states will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the u.s. military. our military hub focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender and the military would entail. thank you. it s got to be difficult for you to read those words, to hear those words. any reservations, given the president s position in terms
working in something having to do with counterterrorism and global security, i really felt that the military was the best path for me to pursue. not only to fulfill my own passion and my own drive, but to really fulfill my potential and do the absolute best job that i possibly can, to make this world and this nation a better place. now, the issue of whether you can serve might not be settled yet. what if, ultimately, you are prohibited from serving? you know, i think if ultimately i m prohibited from serving, it will be regarding an issue that is not my being transgender. because the whole point of this argument, this debate that we ve been having, is that being transgender should not be a disqualifying factor for military service. there is nothing about being transgender that makes me any less qualified than anybody else to serve. and i m very optimistic that i will be allowed to serve and that nothing else is going to block my path from this. well, with nicholas talbot, thank y