{"id":56059,"date":"2021-07-01T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/01\/marine-veteran-advocates-for-lgbt-equality-in-north-carolina\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:53:08","slug":"marine-veteran-advocates-for-lgbt-equality-in-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/07\/01\/marine-veteran-advocates-for-lgbt-equality-in-north-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine veteran advocates for LGBT equality in North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GASTONIA, N.C. \u2014 Timothy Caudill\u2019s resume includes four years of active and four years inactive reserve time serving America as a Marine, including a seven-month deployment in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After leaving the Marine Corps in November 2011, the 2005 Forestview High graduate spent time as a staffer for California Democratic Congressman Scott Peters, working to help veterans like himself get the benefits they earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now back in Gaston County, the 34-year-old Caudill will take on a new challenge as chairman of Gaston County Democrats for Equality, a group representing members of the LGBT community related to political, social and equality issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are here to support the community of Gaston County,\u201d said Caudill. \u201cWe want to help make it the best place possible and to heal the community from years of political polarization, not to further the divide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>LGBT activism<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill joined the Marines after high school and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 \u2014 attacks which saw the World Trade Center\u2019s twin towers destroyed and the Pentagon heavily damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter 9\/11 shook all of our lives, I felt that serving my country was far more important than any personal desire,\u201d Caudill said, \u201cso I leaned heavily into the more traditional sense of sexuality. However, part of my identity started to take a toll on my mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill began volunteering at a LGBT community center after leaving the Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/06\/15\/lgbt-service-members-are-allowed-to-be-out-and-proud-but-a-fear-of-repercussions-persists\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MVA5-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">LGBT service members are allowed to be out and proud, but a fear of repercussions persists<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Most lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members are still reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation or identity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs years went on, my identity crisis came to a head and surpassed and today I identify as a veteran and as a member of the LGBT community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wants to help the LGBT community, he said, because he remembers the hateful speech he has had to endure, including people telling him to \u201cgo to hell\u201d or that he would \u201cdie of AIDS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Military life<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill had done little traveling and felt his life experiences could fit in a \u201csmall bubble\u201d up until he joined the Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI joined the Marine Corps and I had a ship out date within a month,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He would be far from his idea of a \u201csmall bubble\u201d after being deployed to the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI really liked that I got to meet the King of Jordan (Abdullah II) and got invited to do a multi-country special forces competition,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cIt was a super unique experience since 99% of those deployed don\u2019t get to experience things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But leaving the regimented military life and returning to the daily activities of a civilian proved difficult for Caudill. To him, it felt like being pushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoing from active duty to being a civilian is one of the most challenging things anyone can go through,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re going from a highly socialized environment where everyone is well-behaved and well-trained on a daily basis and the civilian world is a bit psychotic with how people treat each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Life transition<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill was happy to land in a job helping veterans as part of Congressman Peters\u2019 constituent services staff after leaving the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was eye-opening because I was representing a congressman to Veterans Affairs,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cI did a lot of work with constituents to help them get the benefits that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill\u2019s focus would change just before he would leave his position helping veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTwo nights before my last day with the fellowship as a staffer, this man randomly tried to stab my friend, but I jumped in the way to protect him,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cI was stabbed nine times. Four muscles were severely damaged or separated. I was on bed rest for three months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2021\/06\/28\/veteran-run-lgbtqiap-employee-organization-celebrates-launch-with-dhs\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-24-at-10.51.17-AM.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Veteran-run LGBTQIAP+ employee organization celebrates launch with DHS<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">This Pride Month marked the official launch of DHS Spectrum into the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of becoming bitter about what had happened, Caudill learned something about his attacker. The man who had stabbed him was homeless and on drugs, Caudill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI started speaking out about drug abuse and mental health in the gay community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to pretend like it isn\u2019t there, but it impacts every area of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caudill has degrees in exercise physiology and political science and government from San Diego City and Mesa colleges. He also has a bachelor\u2019s degree from National University in organizational leadership and organizational behavioral studies with an associate\u2019s of arts degree in education from Gaston College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He now works at Cavendish Brewery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is in my nature to be of service,\u201d Caudill said. \u201cAs a gay man and a USMC veteran, it is important to me now more than ever to bring people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to participate in this amazing democracy that so many have fought and died for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To get involved with the Gaston County Democrats for Equality, email the organization at <a href=\"mailto:LGBTGCD@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\">LGBTGCD@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Marine veteran&#8217;s new challenge comes as chairman of Gaston County Democrats for Equality, a group representing members of the LGBT community related to political, social and equality issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":63494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[143,15,35,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8464],"class_list":["post-56059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-good-news-report","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GGHILRRPDBG2NMF2VDVZZRSZWM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2021\/07\/01\/marine-veteran-advocates-for-lgbt-equality-in-north-carolina\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Marine veteran advocates for LGBT equality in North Carolina - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Marine veteran&#039;s new challenge comes as chairman of Gaston County Democrats for Equality, a group representing members of the LGBT community related to political, social and equality issues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marine veteran advocates for LGBT equality in North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Marine veteran&#039;s new challenge comes as chairman of Gaston County Democrats for Equality, a group representing members of the LGBT community related to political, social and equality issues.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/07\/01\/marine-veteran-advocates-for-lgbt-equality-in-north-carolina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-01T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T20:53:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Janiya Winchester, The Gaston (N.C.) 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