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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NPR Veterans Correspondent Quil Lawrence interviewed Dave Carlson over 10 years, as the Iraq war vet went from war to incarceration to redemption on his long journey home. -
Hundreds of current and former VA clinicians have sent an open letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, warning that cuts and increased privatization threaten the VA health care system.
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The Pentagon is implementing new guidelines that will require journalists to sign a pledge and agree to report only approved and officially released information. -
A bipartisan Congress has come to the rescue of vets at risk of losing their homes, after administrations from both parties tore up VA safety nets for homeowners. -
As the Department of Veterans Affairs tries to meet President Trump's goal of cutting 15% of staff, vets are concerned there won't be enough doctors and nurses. -
An NPR investigation uncovered 40,000 vets facing foreclosure due to a VA mistake. A rescue program is helping many of them, but others fear being left out if Congress cuts this new lifeline -
A group called Force Blue, which does conservation work across the country, is providing what they call "mission therapy" to veterans who miss the camaraderie and the sense of purpose of service. -
Aid groups are suing the Trump administration over its freeze of refugee programs, but criticism is also coming from Republicans who want to help Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. military.
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Senators from both parties did push Collins about how he will solve problems that have plagued the VA for decades, like delivering timely health care and protecting whistle-blowers. -
A non profit has recruited more than 160,000 veterans as poll workers, in the face of growing threats and skepticism about the security of elections.
