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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City officials have recalculated the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus to include some 4,000 people who died at home probably from the illness but who were not tested. -
And despite his combative tone on Monday, President Trump on Tuesday afternoon said he would be making decisions about how to reopen the economy in consultation with governors.
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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. -
In an interview with NPR, Secretary for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said the department was ready to deploy if called on to help with the coronavirus pandemic response. -
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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President Trump has signed a presidential memorandum that is designed to increase the number of "permanently disabled veterans" who erase their federal student loan debt.
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Veterans are warning that the Department of Veterans Affairs has not resolved serious flaws in the way the program is administered. -
In California, U.S. Marine Corps veteran is awaiting deportation to El Salvador. He says the crimes he committed were linked to PTSD from combat in Iraq.
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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. -
President Trump's attack on the late Sen. John McCain included an inaccurate claim about McCain's role in reforming the VA. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., called Trump's remarks "deplorable."
