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170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting

Quil Lawrence

David Aquila ("Quil") Lawrence is an award-winning correspondent for NPR News, covering the millions of Americans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as they transition to life back at home.

Previously, Lawrence served as NPR's Bureau Chief in Kabul. He joined NPR in 2009 as Baghdad Bureau Chief – capping off ten years of reporting in Iraq and all the bordering countries. That experience made the foundation for his first book Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East, published in 2008.

Before coming to NPR, Lawrence was based in Jerusalem, as Middle East correspondent for The World, a BBC/PRI co-production. For the BBC he covered the fall of the Taliban in December 2001 and returned to Afghanistan periodically to report on development, the drug trade and insurgency.

Lawrence began his career as a freelancer for NPR and various newspapers while based in Bogota, Colombia, covering Latin America. Other reporting trips took him to Sudan, Morocco, Cuba, Pakistan and Iran.

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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Election 2012
3:22 pm
Mon November 5, 2012

Many New Yorkers Still Unsure Of Where To Vote

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Originally published on Mon November 5, 2012 3:49 pm

A day before the election, some storm-stricken New Yorkers were trying to figure out where to vote. Meanwhile, the New York City Board of Elections is under pressure to make things run smoothly.

Election 2012
2:04 am
Fri November 2, 2012

N.Y., N.J. Scramble To Make Voting Possible

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Originally published on Fri November 2, 2012 8:43 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Along with other post-Hurricane Sandy reconstruction, New York and New Jersey are trying to reassemble their election preparations. The storm affected hundreds of polling stations. Neither of these reliably Democratic states was poised to decide the presidential election, but public officials are still scrambling to make voting possible for millions of people in the evacuation zones. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

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The Impact of War
2:03 am
Wed October 24, 2012

Vet Walks On New Legs, With A Little Help From Mom

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Nick Staback, who lost both of his legs to a bomb in Afghanistan, talks with his mother, Maria Staback, in Scranton, Pa. Maria Staback took a leave of absence from her job to move in with her son while he was recuperating at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Staback takes aim with a replica sniper rifle on his back porch in Scranton, Pa. After a year at Walter Reed, he's moving into an apartment with a friend near the hospital in Bethesda, Md.
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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 11:58 am

On furlough from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center this summer, 21-year-old Nick Staback lounges on his parents' back porch in Scranton, Pa., taking potshots at sparrows with a replica sniper rifle. The long plastic gun fires pellets that mostly just scare the birds away.

It's been a tough year for Staback since his last foot patrol in Afghanistan.

"We [were] just channeling down a beaten trail, of course, you just don't know what's on it," he says. "We had the mine sweepers out front and everything like that."

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Election 2012
1:52 am
Tue October 16, 2012

Veterans Want Solutions To Unemployment Issue

Credit Mary Altaffer / AP
Veterans applaud at an Oct. 8 campaign event in Swanton, Ohio, for Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Health care and unemployment are among veterans' chief concerns this election season, and both the Obama and the Romney campaigns have offered solutions.
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Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 7:35 am

Military veterans across the country have a whole range of concerns this election season, from the high rate of suicide to special challenges for female vets. But like everyone else, they're especially concerned with health care and jobs.

The nation's obligations to some 2 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan pose a challenge for the next commander in chief. Unemployment for post-Sept. 11 vets is about 2 percentage points worse than the national average, and veterans want solutions.

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It's All Politics
12:31 am
Thu September 20, 2012

Military Vote Seen As A Key To Capturing Virginia

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Credit Brian Snyder / Reuters/Landov
Mitt Romney takes the stage at a campaign rally at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Va., on Sept. 8.
Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama is greeted by naval officers at Naval Air Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 4.
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Originally published on Thu September 20, 2012 5:38 pm

Both presidential campaigns are focusing on just a few swing states, and the relatively few remaining undecided voters. One of those states is Virginia, where a key swing constituency is military veterans.

Troops and veterans have long been considered a natural part of the Republican base. But President Obama is pushing hard for the veterans' vote to help him in a state he captured in 2008.

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Author Interviews
12:29 am
Tue September 11, 2012

Stories From A New Generation Of American Soldiers

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Yellow Birds book cover detail
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Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 6:57 am

Iraq War veteran Brian Castner opens his new memoir, The Long Walk, with a direct and disturbing warning:

"The first thing you should know about me is that I'm Crazy," he writes. "I haven't always been. Until that one day, the day I went Crazy, I was fine. Or I thought I was. Not anymore."

More than 10 years since a new generation of Americans went into combat, the soldiers themselves are starting to write the story of war. Three recent releases show how their experiences give them the authority to describe the war, fictionalize it and even satirize it.

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Sports
11:59 am
Fri September 7, 2012

A Year After War Wound, American Wins Paralympics

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Lt. Brad Snyder mounts the starting blocks while training on his starting technique. Snyder was permanently blinded last year by an IED in Afghanistan, and is now competing in the Paralympics in London.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Following the explosion, Snyder became permanently blind.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Snyder was captain of the swim team at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 2006. Here, he walks with his coach at his training center in Baltimore.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Navy Lt. Brad Snyder talks with his coach, Brian Loeffler, during a training session at the North Baltimore Swim Club in Maryland on July 29. Last year the lieutenant was working on a bomb-disposal squad in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device took his vision.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A new generation of wounded war veterans from the U.S. and U.K. has taken their particularly competitive spirit to the Paralympic Games.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Snyder's times in the 400-meter freestyle have improved so drastically in the past year that he set a world record for blind athletes.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Snyder uses the lane dividers to position himself in the pool and stay on the fastest course possible.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Organizers of the Paralympics say new vets raise the caliber of the competition, while veterans say the games provide inspiration and therapy for young catastrophically injured soldiers.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Synder and Loeffler head to the showers after training.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Snyder went to London for the Paralympics ranked No. 1 in several events, including the 100-meter freestyle, where he took gold on Aug. 31.
Credit Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
Bradley Snyder celebrates after winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the Paralympics in London on Friday. The Navy lieutenant won the event exactly one year after losing his sight in an explosion in Afghanistan.
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Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 7:06 pm

The first thing you need to know about Navy Lt. Brad Snyder is that he's a bit intense.

If you go to the U.S. Naval Academy, swim competitively, and make the cut for the Navy's elite bomb-disposal squad, you're probably going to be the competitive type.

"Crossfit, surfing, biking, running, swimming, you name it I'm into it. Rock climbing," says Snyder.

The second thing you should know is that Snyder plans to continue doing all these things — even though he's now blind.

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Sports
12:18 am
Thu August 30, 2012

Doing It To Win: Veterans Raise Bar At Paralympics

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
U.S. rowers Rob Jones and Oksana Masters train at the Rivanna Reservoir in Charlottesville, Va. The pair will compete in adaptive rowing at the London Paralympics this week. Jones, a former U.S. Marine, lost both legs to an improvised land mine in southern Afghanistan.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Jones is one of many U.S. veterans heading to London to compete in the Paralympics. The games are changing as a new generation of wounded war vets from the U.S. and U.K. bring their particularly competitive spirit to London.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Masters was born with disfigured legs that were later amputated.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Jones sits on the dock at the Rivanna Reservoir before putting his boat in the water. The Paralympic movement began half a century ago when disabled vets from World War II started looking for a way to continue active lifestyles.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
The teammates use a specially adapted rowing shell that is rigged with attachments so they can row comfortably, and slip in and out of the boat on their own.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Brad Lewis coaches Jones and Masters from a chase boat.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
The athletes put on their prosthetic limbs after the training session.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Jones wipes sweat from his head after a morning workout with Masters. Organizers of the games say the new vets raise the caliber of the competition; veterans say Paralympic sports provide inspiration and therapy for young, catastrophically injured soldiers.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Rob Jones and Oksana Masters will compete in adaptive rowing at the London Olympics this week. Jones is a former U.S. Marine who lost both legs to an improvised land mine in southern Afghanistan.
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Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 8:22 am

On a placid summer morning last month, before the Virginia heat could hit them, a former U.S. Marine and his partner lifted their rowing scull into the glassy water of the Rivanna River, near Charlottesville.

"First thing I do is take these legs off," said Rob Jones, who like his rowing partner, Oksana Masters, is a double, above-the-knee amputee. They're the U.S. team for mixed-doubles rowing at the 2012 London Paralympics, which started Wednesday.

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Around the Nation
7:20 am
Fri August 3, 2012

A New Generation Of Vets Faces Challenges At Home

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Homeless veterans, their families and volunteers stand in line for food at "Stand Down," an annual event hosted by the Veterans Village of San Diego. The VA estimates that about 67,000 vets are homeless.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Stand Down, a three-day event supporting 1,000 veterans, is hosted in a tent city on the grounds of San Diego High School. It's a one-stop shop to help homeless vets get a fresh start. It offers health care, addiction therapy, showers, clothes and even an open-air court with pro bono lawyers to clear up fines and misdemeanors.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Dr. Jon Nachison speaks during the 25th opening ceremony of the Stand Down event. While the population is mostly from the Vietnam era, newer, younger faces have started to trickle in as vets return from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Nachison, a Vietnam veteran, is the founder and director of Stand Down.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Veterans stand in the center of the grounds, surrounded by American flags.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Bob Korchnak, a former Navy battleship sailor, gets a shave and a haircut after traveling from Ohio to take part in Stand Down. Korchnak was arrested numerous times in San Diego for panhandling and came back to take advantage of the court program to deal with outstanding legal issues.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Jill Millard volunteers in honor of her son Gregory, who was killed in action while deployed with the Army in Iraq.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Carlos Laguna did two tours with the Marines in Iraq. He says post-traumatic stress led to heavy drinking after he finished serving, and he credits Veterans Village of San Diego for helping him get clean.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Homeless vets wait for their legal packets and their court-appointed attorneys before going before Judge Roger Crauel. Crauel has been holding court at Stand Down for several years.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Steve Binder, the County of San Diego deputy public defender, has been helping veterans with their legal troubles for more than 15 years. He helps run the court, where veterans can free themselves from a cycle of legal troubles.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A legal courtroom in session.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Nathaniel Roberti came to Stand Down to enroll in the Veterans Village San Diego residential program, which helps get homeless vets off the streets. A judge gave him that option instead of prison.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Chris Stavran lives in the Veterans Village of San Diego residential program instead of serving prison time for child abuse. He attributes his heavy drug use to post-traumatic stress.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Homeless veterans, their families and volunteers line up for food at Stand Down, an annual event hosted by the Veterans Village of San Diego. The Veterans Administration estimates that 67,000 vets are homeless nationwide.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Joshua, 28, had trouble adjusting to civilian life in a tough economy after eight years in the Navy. He asked to not share his last name because of the stigma tied with being homeless.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Paul, a former sniper with the Marines, did two tours in Iraq and says it was hard to reconnect with the civilian world. He declined to give his full name.
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Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 3:06 pm

Homeless veterans of the Vietnam War have been a face of American poverty for decades, and now some veterans of a younger generation are dealing with the same difficult issues.

"I had my apartment up until 2011," says Joshua, a 28-year-old Navy vet, who asked not to give his last name because of the stigma of being homeless. "[I] couldn't keep up with the rent; I did a little couch surfing and then ended up on the street for a while."

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Afghanistan
11:53 pm
Wed May 9, 2012

Afghan Goal: Toning Down The Radical Preachers

Credit Muhammed Muheisen / AP
The Afghan government wants Muslim preachers to tone down sermons that often criticize the presence of American troops and praise the Taliban. Here, an Afghan youth drags his sheep past a group of men praying at a mosque in Kabul in November 2011.
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Originally published on Thu May 10, 2012 1:48 am

The ministry that governs religious affairs in Afghanistan has announced what some are calling a "three strikes" policy.

It's a warning directed at Muslim clerics, or imams, accused of inciting violence in their Friday sermons. Imams across the country routinely condemn the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and speak in favor of the Taliban.

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