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. -
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is en route to the Caribbean Sea as U.S. forces expand operations near Venezuela, where recent strikes have killed at least 76 people.
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Veterans Correspondent Quil Lawrence had been interviewing Iraq vet Dave Carlson for 10 years. His journey from war to prison to redemption is the subject of the podcast Carlson's War, excerpted here.
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The admiral overseeing U.S. Southern Command is leaving as the Pentagon continues its attacks on small boats in the waters off Venezuela, claiming they are being used by drug traffickers.
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The admiral overseeing U.S. Southern Command is leaving as the Pentagon continues its attacks on small boats in the waters off Venezuela, claiming they are being used by drug traffickers.
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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. -
If you're a veteran who has been charged a fee to get help on your application for a VA disability rating or other benefits, NPR wants to hear from you! -
NPR has heard from more than 50 veterans around the country who are upset about the VA cutting a program that was helping vets avoid foreclosure. Veterans now have worse options than most Americans.
