Quil Lawrence Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering national security and veterans' issues nationwide.
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Quil Lawrence

David Gilkey/NPR
Quil Lawrence
David Gilkey/NPR

Quil Lawrence

Veterans Correspondent

Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering national security, climate and veterans' issues nationwide. Previously he was NPR's Bureau Chief in Kabul and Baghdad.

Lawrence started his radio career by interviewing con-men in Tangier, Morocco in 1995. He then moved to Bogotá, Colombia, and covered Latin America and the Caribbean for NPR, the BBC and the LA Times.

In the Spring of 2000, a Pew Fellowship sponsored his first trips to Iraq — that reporting built the foundation for the book Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East (Bloomsbury, 2009).

Reporting for the BBC World Service, he traveled throughout the Arab world and to Sudan, Pakistan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

Lawrence covered Iraq and Afghanistan for 12 years, including 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 2009 he joined NPR as Baghdad Bureau Chief, and then served as Kabul Bureau Chief.

In 2012, Lawrence returned to the U.S. to start a beat covering 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.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) honored Lawrence with its Award for Leadership in Journalism. His coverage of life after war won a Robert F. Kennedy Award, and he received a Gracie Award for a series on female combat veterans. He co-hosted Home/Front, a podcast about the civilian-military divide, which the New York Times recognized among the ten best podcasts of 2021. The series won an Edward R. Murrow Award for the episode Marla's War.

Lawrence edited Pictures on the Radio, a book of the late photographer David Gilkey's work for NPR News, which won the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation's Sergeant Major Dan Daly Award and was named Photography Book of the Year by PoYi.

Originally from 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.

Story Archive

Friday

Marine Corps veteran Ed O'Connor is seen outside his home in Fredericksburg, Va. He is among tens of thousands of veterans who took a COVID forbearance on a VA home loan. But the VA's program ended abruptly in October of 2022 and many veterans were asked to either pay all the missed payments or face foreclosure. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

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Catie Dull/NPR

Veterans fear the VA's new foreclosure rescue plan won't help them

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Friday

Charles Dharapak/AP

VA halts foreclosures for thousands of veterans about to needlessly lose their homes

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Thursday

Veterans John Follmer, right, and Alejandro Rocha, left, do outreach on on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. They met Chris Brown, center, and offered to connect him with veterans services. Alex Welsh for NPR hide caption

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Alex Welsh for NPR

The answer to veterans homelessness could be one of LA's most expensive neighborhoods

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Wednesday

A reclaimed VA campus in West LA could help with the city's homelessness crisis

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Friday

An Israeli soldier walks past a house damaged during the Hamas attack in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, Israel, on Friday. The Kibbutz was attacked on Oct. 7. Maya Alleruzzo/AP hide caption

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Maya Alleruzzo/AP

As the Israel-Hamas war rages, the U.S. wants to offer Israel advice — and get advised

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Monday

Mistakes made in the wake of 9/11 could serve as cautionary tales for Israel

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Monday

U.S Marine Corps Col. Thomas M. Bedell, the commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, poses for a photo at the station's Energy and Water Operations Center on MCAS Miramar. Lance Cpl. Jose S. GuerreroDeLeon/U.S. Marines/DVIDS hide caption

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Lance Cpl. Jose S. GuerreroDeLeon/U.S. Marines/DVIDS

The military is turning to microgrids to fight global threats — and global warming

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Friday

Marking 2 years since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan

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Wednesday

Members of the California National Guard's Task Force Rattlesnake clear brush and small trees to reduce the likelihood of a high-intensity wildfire. Max Whittaker for NPR hide caption

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Max Whittaker for NPR

Hotter climate means a never-ending fire season for the National Guard

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Tuesday

The National Guard turns to firefighting amid worsening climate change

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Wednesday

Ian Fishback, who blew the whistle on torture by the U.S. military, was laid to rest

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Tuesday

Dan Nevis at a Wounded Warrior Program 5k run in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2019. Wounded Warrior Project hide caption

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Wounded Warrior Project

Veterans are encouraged to enroll for PACT Act benefits by Aug. 9

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Veterans are encouraged to enroll for Pact Act benefits by Aug. 9

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Sunday

Korean War veterans from the Republic of Korea salute at a ceremony Thursday at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., commemorating the anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement. The agreement was signed July 27, 1953. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

As living memories of the Korean War fade, its consequences become clearer

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Thursday

70 years since the Korean armistice, some call for an official end to the conflict

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Sunday

Ret. Lt. Col. Bob Alexander stayed closeted in the Air Force for 20 years because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He came out when the policy ended, and when he retired, he decided to help those who weren't discharged honorably because of their sexual orientation. He resides in Washington D.C., and works as a cybersecurity attorney. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

Discharged over sexual orientation, military still owes thousands of vets

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Tuesday

Thousands of LGBTQ veterans have yet to receive the military benefits they're owed

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Friday

President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stand together during an arrival ceremony at the White House on June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Wednesday

Thursday

Biden picks Air Force Gen. CQ Brown as Joint Chiefs chairman

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Tuesday

U.S. military veterans generally don't embrace extremism, a new survey shows

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A nationwide survey by the RAND Corporation found that veterans were less likely than the general population to support extremist groups. Adam Kaz/Getty Images hide caption

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Adam Kaz/Getty Images

Survey: Surprising to some, veterans are less likely to support extremism

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Friday