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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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. -
Seven Veterans Affairs staffers have died from the virus, and unions for VA workers have been sounding the alarm about shortages of protective gear and insufficient staffing. -
Dozens of women who work in special operations recently met in Southern California to find ways to encourage female troops to stay in the military or help them transition to rewarding civilian jobs.
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Maj. Jason Brezler faced discharge after emailing classified documents over an insecure network. He challenged the Marine Corps' decision, and a board of inquiry recently ruled in his favor. -
Veterans are warning that the Department of Veterans Affairs has not resolved serious flaws in the way the program is administered. -
A major change in how the Department of Veterans Affairs uses private health care providers goes into effect Thursday amid concerns that it could drain resources from the VA into the private sector.
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As part of a Memorial Day tribute, the U.S. Army asked service members to tweet the answer to the question: How has serving impacted you? The answers Army officials got were not what they expected.
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Wisconsin created the Green Alert - a statewide call-out when family, friends or caregivers report a troubled veteran is missing. That may save lives, but it exposes a personal crisis to all. -
The VA has published new rules on how it will spend billions of dollars on private health care. Proponents say it will give veterans more choices, but others fear it's a move toward privatization. -
After an 11-week trial, a jury will begin deliberating the fate of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Mexican drug kingpin accused of operating a criminal enterprise, money laundering and other crimes.
