Quil Lawrence
Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Award for his coverage of American veterans and a Gracie Award for coverage of female combat veterans. In 2019 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America honored Quil with its IAVA Salutes Award for Leadership in Journalism.
Lawrence started his career in radio by interviewing con men in Tangier, Morocco. He then moved to Bogota, Colombia, and covered Latin America for NPR, the BBC, and The LA Times.
In the Spring of 2000, a Pew Fellowship sponsored his first trips to Iraq — that reporting experience eventually built the foundation for his first book, Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East (Bloomsbury, 2009).
Lawrence has reported from throughout the Arab world and from Sudan, Cuba, Pakistan, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan for twelve years, serving as NPR's Bureau Chief in Baghdad and Kabul. He covered the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the second battle of Fallujah in 2004, as well as politics, culture, and war in both countries.
In 2012, Lawrence returned to the U.S. to cover the millions of men and women who have served at war, both recently and in past generations. NPR is possibly unique among major news organizations in dedicating a full-time correspondent to veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A native of Maine, Lawrence studied history at Brandeis University, with concentrations in the Middle East and Latin America. He is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Arabic.
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Veterans Affairs is expanding its popular post-9/11 caregiver program to include vets from Vietnam and Korea, but caregivers currently in the program say they're being purged in the process.
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A day after a fire killed 17 people and injured dozens at an apartment building in the Bronx, residents try to regroup. An investigation is underway.
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New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio has announced what he called a "pre-emptive strike" before the winter — a vaccine mandate for private sector employers.
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Ian Fishback was a Green Beret who exposed torture by U.S. troops in Iraq. After serving four combat tours and earning a Ph.D. in philosophy, Fishback died last month in a nursing home. He was 42. -
With the nation's health care system strained by the pandemic, veterans with medical skills say red tape prevents them from using their military credentials to qualify for civilian jobs.
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Veterans, along with the rest of the country, see long waits for mental health and other specialty care. Veterans Affairs has announced it will redesign how it schedules and pays for private care.
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On the 10th anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the White House announced a policy change to help get VA benefits to veterans who were kicked out of the military for their sexuality.
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The massive U.S. airlift out of Kabul was a feat of logistics and stamina. But it was also marred by chaos and violence. Somehow, an unlikely coalition formed to try and help get Afghans out. -
Thousands of Afghans who worked with U.S. forces were promised a U.S. visa in return. With American troops all but gone, it's unclear how the Biden administration will be able to keep that promise. -
Every day of Lyla Kohistany's life, her native country was at war. But the first time she really saw the place, she was a 25-year-old U.S. Navy intelligence officer.
