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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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. -
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.
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President Biden on Wednesday will sign the PACT Act, a bill to care for veterans exposed to toxins that is considered the biggest expansion of veterans' health care in U.S. history.
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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 Senate will make military history if it votes to confirm Gen. Michael E. Langley to command U.S. forces in Africa. He'll be the first Black four-star general in the Marine Corps' history.
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The plan would have shut many of the Department of Veterans Affairs less-used clinics and aging hospitals. The senators say they're working on a way to rebuild the VA' infrastructure.
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Groups made up of Black veterans recently came together in Washington, D.C., like they never have before. They're hoping by joining forces and telling their stories they can make their voices heard.
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Thousands of Afghans that were promised U.S. visas remain on the run from the Taliban. The Biden administration, however, quickly cleared red tape for Ukrainians after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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The government is settling a case that will grant billions in debt relief to students, many of them veterans, who say unscrupulous colleges cheated them into overpaying for useless degrees.
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The Senate voted on a $280 billion package of care for veterans exposed to toxins from agent orange in Vietnam. It's a rare moment of bipartisan action and the largest expansion of VA care in history.
