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 鈥� 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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The countries share a border. Along the frontier, residents say a new barrier has disrupted everything from Arctic climate action and nuclear waste control to trade and cross-border sports leagues. -
As 20 years of war draw to a close, a divide separates those who served and those who haven't. The "civ-mil divide" can leave veterans alienated and civilians unfamiliar with what it means to serve. -
The newest monument on the National Mall, which opens on Veterans Day, will provide a quiet shrine for Native vets to visit. Native Americans have traditionally served in high numbers. -
While much of the country is in turmoil, the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq have remained peaceful. The upheaval could help advance the Kurds' long-standing quest for an independent state.
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The Senate has passed a bill to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs. Like a similar bill in the House, the Senate bill gives veterans the option of seeking private care if the VA takes too long and makes it easier to fire VA employees. But the Senate version also spends a lot more money on doctors and hospitals than the House version.
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Veterans Affairs has a budget of $160 billion, the second largest in government. Some veterans groups say this isn't enough to meet the rapidly expanding demands placed on the VA health system. -
Before former Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki stepped down, he ordered an audit of the VA system, hoping to find how many hospitals were lying about wait times. The audit found that approximately 100,000 veterans are waiting too long for care at the VA.
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Problems at the VA are not new; the system has struggled for years to deliver health care in a timely manner. Most of those enduring long waits are older vets from Vietnam, Korea and World War II.
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In response to the crisis in lengthy wait times for medical care, Congress and veterans groups again are debating the proper role of private sector solutions. -
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki apologized for lengthy waits at VA facilities, saying he's ousting the leaders of a VA hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., after stories about delays in care there. Shinseki's decision to resign marks a muddy end to an illustrious career, which began when he joined the Army nearly five decades ago.
