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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The bipartisan bill would block companies from using auto-dialers to harvest private information about disabled veterans. The firms charge veterans for a service lawmakers say is supposed to be free. -
The Trump administration claims it has cut VA staff while also shortening wait times for care. A new study shows a more complicated picture, with longer wait times in several key areas.
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Like many vets, it took Fred Minnick time to find the best way to cope with what he would learn was PTSD. For Minnick, sense and peace came with bourbon — and "taste mindfulness." -
A ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is fragile while the one between the U.S. and Iran is more stable.
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U.S. military officials say the blockade of Iranian ports is holding and so is a ceasefire in the war with Iran.
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Foreclosures on VA loans are at their highest level in a decade. VA has a fix but it is months away and could still leave vets worse off than most other homeowners. -
A U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to NPR that the Pentagon has ordered some 2,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has launched administrative action against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, which could affect Kelly's rank and retirement pay. -
Congress is calling for action in response to reporting last week from NPR that "claim shark" companies are using aggressive tactics to make millions off of veterans, despite warnings from VA's that it may be illegal. -
In the face of charges that these strikes amount to execution without trial, the White House is sending a confusing message about who exactly gave each order to use deadly force.
