Talon Smith - NBC's 'Stars Earn Stripes'

Military service has always been a calling for Talon Smith. He was born on an Air Force base in California before moving to Kentucky when he was three. Smith was in eighth grade in September of 2001 and he says 9/11 changed everything for him. Up until that point, Smith had wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon. But Smith says from that day on, he knew he wanted to serve his country and enlist. Smith tried to enlist when he was 17 after several of his friends were deployed to Iraq following graduation but his parents encouraged him to go to college first. Smith agreed not to enlist but instead enrolled at college or university he found himself on his way to Hollywood to begin a career as an actor and model. Smith appeared in Ashley Tisdale’s music video for Kiss the Girl, CBS’s Ghost Whisperer and Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous as a reoccurring character. During this time, Smith said he struggled with not having joined the military and when a former classmate was killed in Afghanistan in 2006, he decided it was time to enlist in August of 2007. Smith joined the Navy to serve as a Hospital Corpsman. Smith had immediate success in the Naval Hospital Corps School, earning the highest GPA in his class. Shortly after graduation, Smith moved on to the Field Medical Service Technician School before being deployed to Okinawa Japan, were he was deployed with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion of the US Marine Corps. Smith stayed with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion until 2011 when he was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. It was with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion that Smith served in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Smith says he saw very little action but still experienced combat, however he doesn’t consider himself to be a “battle hardened veteran.” Since his return from Afghanistan in April 2012, he is now focused on his current project as an operative on the NBC show Stars Earn Stripes, where's he's paired with female boxing legend Laila Ali. Smith currently lives near Camp Pendleton in California with his wife Jaime, his daughter Sienna and their dog Cosmo. He says his goal is to open a CrossFit gym in the near future.