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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Marine reservist Jason Brezler warned comrades in Afghanistan about a dirty Afghan cop. No one took heed, and three Marines died. Now Brezler is facing a possible discharge from the Corps. -
A former Marine who served in Afghanistan took his own life recently. But there was no diagnosis linking his service to his suicide, making it hard for his family to receive full death benefits. -
The Republican presidential candidate this week outlined 10 ways he would reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, including allowing veterans to choose a doctor outside the VA system. -
The debate over how to overhaul the $10 billion Veterans Choice program is the latest skirmish between those who would like to privatize the VA and supporters of government health care.
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The $10 billion Veterans Choice program was supposed to cut down on wait times and let veterans see private doctors, but less than two years later, the faltering program needs an overhaul. -
The $10 billion Veterans Choice has not cut backlogs, critics say. This problem can be particularly urgent when it comes to mental health cases. -
The Pentagon admits a major concern over reprisals against troops who report sexual assault. A Human Rights Watch report says the Pentagon isn't doing enough to repair harm done by this retaliation. -
A $10 billion program to eliminate long wait times and other problems for veterans' health care hasn't worked out as planned. More veterans wait even longer for care now than they did a year ago. -
In 2009, then-Veterans Affairs head Eric Shinseki declared that all homeless veterans would have housing by 2015. New Orleans has made big strides, but in Los Angeles, the problem persists.
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In a minority of cases, violent behavior accompanies post-traumatic stress disorder. Military spouses can become victims, and there are few resources around to help them.
