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.
-
Flooding cut off I-75 for hours as officials struggle to restore power and water to residents in the path of the storm's destruction. -
The GI bill has helped generations of veterans get an education and easy home loans. But that benefit has never really been available to Native Americans living on tribal land. -
Five-tour combat veteran Jestin Dupree works for the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes on the Fort Peck reservation in Montana. He aims to fill in gaps in VA care that often leave Native veterans behind. -
This week marks one year since the abrupt end of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. U.S. veterans are still trying to come to terms with the collapse of the mission. -
Veterans groups are slamming GOP senators for blocking a bill that would have given health care and benefits to veterans affected by from toxic chemicals and burn pits in wars dating back to Vietnam. -
The countries share a border. Along the frontier, residents say a new barrier has disrupted everything from Arctic climate action and nuclear waste control to trade and cross-border sports leagues. -
Troops from 27 countries wrapped up one of the largest NATO war games since the 1980s — in the Arctic. Russia's war in Ukraine made the exercise feel like more than a game. -
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. -
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. -
As 20 years of war draw to a close, a divide separates those who served and those who haven't. The "civ-mil divide" can leave veterans alienated and civilians unfamiliar with what it means to serve.
