Quil Lawrence

Sexual Violence Victims Say Military Justice System Is 'Broken'

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:05:00 +0000

Myla Haider took a roundabout route to becoming an agent in the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, or CID. Wars kept interrupting her training.

"My commander wanted to take me to Iraq as the intelligence analyst for the battalion, so I gave up my seat in CID school," Haider says.

She speaks in a steady, "just the facts ma'am" tone. Once a cop always a cop, the 37-year-old says.

Her commander from the 101st Airborne, retired Lt. Col. Marty Herbert, describes Haider as a sharp, even-keeled analyst, standing out in a battalion of hundreds.

Off The Battlefield, Military Women Face Risks From Male Troops

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:08:00 +0000

Dora Hernandez gave a decade of her life to the U.S. Navy and the Army National Guard, but some of the dangers surprised her.

"The worst thing for me is that you don't have to worry about the enemy, you have to worry about your own soldiers," she says.

Sitting in a circle, a group of women nod in agreement. All are veterans, most have spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they're also survivors of another war.

Women In Combat, And The Price They Pay

Quil Lawrence — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:23:00 +0000

America has been debating the role of women in combat since 1779.

That's when the Continental Congress first awarded a military disability pension to Mary Corbin after she manned a cannon in the Revolutionary War at the battle of Fort Washington in New York. Corbin got only half the pension male soldiers received, but she asked for — and received — the full ration of rum.

Today, as the Pentagon decides how to remove the combat exclusion, women still have trouble getting fully recognized for what they've achieved at war.

"Are women in combat?" asks Staff Sgt. Jessica Keown.

Female Soldiers Face Tough Switch From Front Lines To Homefront

Quil Lawrence — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 09:52:00 +0000

In a series of reports this week, NPR's Quil Lawrence looks at some of the most pressing challenges facing America's nearly 2 million female veterans. Like men, they often need assistance in finding jobs, dealing with PTSD and reintegrating into their families. And all too often, women say their military experience included sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Alyssa Corcoran experienced combat on her first patrol in Afghanistan.

A Wounded Soldier Stands Tall At Reunion With His Platoon

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:13:00 +0000

U.S. Army Spc. Tyler Jeffries spent most of last year in Afghanistan, on dusty, hot patrols in the villages outside Kandahar. Last fall, on Oct. 6, his tour ended three months early.

"I was clearing an area and I had the metal detector. Then we had word that there was two guys coming toward our position," Jeffries recalled later that month.

Shooting Of 'American Sniper' Raises Questions About PTSD Treatment

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Police in Texas have charged Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old U.S. Marine reservist, with capital murder. Arrest records indicate that Routh had been twice taken to a mental hospital in recent months, and had told police he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It's not clear whether a doctor had diagnosed Routh with the disorder before he allegedly murdered Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield.

Suicide Hotline Fights To Keep Vets And Troops Alive

Quil Lawrence — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:32:00 +0000

At a suicide prevention center in upstate New York, America's troops and veterans are calling in for help.

And that help is needed more than ever. This past year witnessed a terrible death toll from suicide.

For Veterans, The Wait For Disability Claims Grows Longer

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAVb1FzjZH8

Veterans Deploy To Northeast After Superstorm Sandy

Quil Lawrence — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:44:00 +0000

Among the thousands of volunteers helping the victims of Superstorm Sandy in New York and New Jersey are hundreds of military veterans who have turned out to help.

For this group, work like this seems to address a real need for a sense of mission.

New York To Allow Voters To Cast Ballots By Affidavit

Quil Lawrence — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:43:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Now many who will cast presidential ballots in New York have been facing a complicated post-storm challenge - where they should vote. Superstorm Sandy has displaced many residents from their homes and some polling places are out of commission because of storm damage.

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

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:03:00 +0000

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.

Military Vote Seen As A Key To Capturing Virginia

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 07:31:00 +0000

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.

A Year After War Wound, American Wins Paralympics

Quil Lawrence — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:59:00 +0000

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.

Snyder's last combat deployment took him to Afghanistan, where he defused bombs for a Navy SEAL team.

Doing It To Win: Veterans Raise Bar At Paralympics

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:18:00 +0000

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.

They sit, take off their legs on the dock, balance on their torsos, lift, twist and gently drop the boat in.

A New Generation Of Vets Faces Challenges At Home

Quil Lawrence — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:20:00 +0000

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."

The economy is tough, and he was surprised that his skills in the Navy didn't translate into anything marketable once he mustered out.

Afghan Goal: Toning Down The Radical Preachers

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:53:00 +0000

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.

Despite the rapid growth of the media in Afghanistan, many still get their news and commentary during the traditional Friday prayers at the mosque. The Friday sermon usually has one religious lesson — but another section is reserved for current events.

For Afghan Soldiers, A Battle For Respect

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Last month, the Taliban carried out their largest coordinated attack across Afghanistan, including three sites inside the capital Kabul. It took an 18-hour gunfight to end the assault.

But even as they took cover, Kabul residents saw something new: their own soldiers taking the lead, with limited help from NATO.

Facing Death, Afghan Girl Runs To U.S. Military

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000

In a remote part of Afghanistan early last year, a girl was sentenced to death. Her crime was possession of a cellphone. Her executioners were to be her brothers. They suspected her of talking on the phone with a boy. The girl, in her late teens, had dishonored the family, her brothers said.

"My older brother took the cellphone from me and beat me very badly. It was dinnertime. They told me that they would execute me after dinner. They said to me this would be my last meal," says "Lina," a pseudonym.

The question of how to protect the rights of Afghan women after U.S.

Deal Reached On U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership

Quil Lawrence — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:42:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Afghan and U.S. governments have finalized a strategic partnership deal. It took more than a year of negotiations, including plenty of ups and downs between Kabul and Washington. Details have not been released, including how many American troops and Special Forces might be left behind after 2014, but both governments hope the agreement will put to rest doubts about a long term American commitment to support Afghanistan, doubts that some say have been undermining stability in that country.

Dreams Of A Mining Future On Hold In Afghanistan

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:13:00 +0000

Afghanistan faces the daunting prospect of a drastic reduction in foreign aid, which currently makes up about 90 percent of the country's revenue. Some have seen an economic life raft in geological surveys that indicate huge deposits of copper, iron, uranium and lithium in various parts of the country.

Afghan Farmer Lost 11 Relatives In Shooting Rampage

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Afghans say they're so inured to civilians killed in wars that they bury their dead and move on. That's not so easy for Muhammad Wazir. He lost his mother, his wife, a sister-in-law, a brother, a nephew, his four daughters and two of his sons in last week's mass shooting in two villages.

"My little boy, Habib Shah, is the only one left alive, and I love him very much," says Wazir.

The boy cried next to his father as Wazir spoke by cellphone. The 4-year-old is his favorite, Wazir says, and that's why he took the boy as he traveled to the eastern side of Kandahar province last week.

Will Massacre In Kandahar Be A Policy Tipping Point?

Quil Lawrence — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

In Afghanistan, the massacre of 16 unarmed Afghan civilians, allegedly by a U.S. service member, is the latest in a string of events which may have shifted the dynamic between the Afghan people and the U.S.-led Army that's been occupying the country for a decade.

Last week, President Hamid Karzai demanded that U.S. troops leave Afghanistan's villages and withdraw to larger bases around the country. At first, Washington dismissed Karzai's demand as bluster.

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:43:00 +0000

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

The woman, who asked not to give her name, says she tells most of her family that she works with a foreign aid organization.

Reviewing U.S. Strategy In Afghanistan

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

The deadly violence in Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans by the U.S. military has brought the American-led NATO mission to a crossroads. Among the dead have been four Americans — two of them by an Afghan policeman inside a supposedly highly secure government ministry building. The U.S. pulled all its advisers from those ministries.

U.S. Apology Fails To Stop Afghan Riots

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:51:00 +0000

President Obama apologized in a letter and Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm.

But that was not enough to keep Afghans from protesting violently for a third day following word that several copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, were burned at a large NATO base outside Kabul.

The latest incident resembled other cases in recent years, where rumors that a Quran was desecrated — even thousands of miles away in Florida or Guantanamo Bay — ignited deadly riots in Afghanistan.

This time American officials acknowledged the desecrations took place. They say U.S.

Army Moves To Act Fast On Battlefield Brain Injuries

Quil Lawrence — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Nineteen-year-old Army Pvt. Cody Dollman has a look in his eyes that makes you think he probably used to fight much bigger kids on the playground back home in Wichita, Kan. He says he always wanted to be a soldier — both his grandfathers served in the military — but he's the first in his family to see action overseas.

"I love it. It's what I signed up to do, you know?" says Dollman, who had been patrolling the battle-scared villages around Kandahar, Afghanistan. "I get to go back home and tell stories. That's one of the coolest things. What did you do on Christmas?

Remembering 'Intrepid Storyteller' Anthony Shadid

Quil Lawrence — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:05:00 +0000

I met Anthony Shadid on a ruined airstrip in western Afghanistan in the winter of 2001-'02. He was sporting a beard and longer hair in those days that made him look a little like a crusading Arab warrior. We spoke briefly and exchanged a few bits of useful news about the place. As I recall his face now, I realize Anthony's secret: His sincerity was piercing, disarming and infectious.

Over the next decade, I got to watch Anthony's genuine curiosity overcome the suspicions of refugees, ambassadors and warlords, as he soaked up their stories and rendered them with great generosity of spirit.

Snowstorms Take A Toll In Afghan Refugee Camps

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Kabul's fourth snowstorm in the past month brought children out to play across the city, including those in the Charahi Qambar refugee camp in the western part of the capital.

Many of the children in the camp don't remember any other life outside of this mud-brick shantytown. Most of their parents fled the southern province of Helmand when the war heated up there four years ago.

Opening the plastic sheet that serves as a door to her one-room home, Ram Bibi's hands shake from arthritis and the cold. She left Helmand four years ago after a bombardment that killed her husband.

Afghans Hedge Bets Amid Mixed Messages From U.S.

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

After a long hiatus, the Afghan and U.S. governments this week reopened talks on a strategic partnership that will determine how many American troops stay in Afghanistan past the end of the NATO mission in 2014.

The resumption of talks comes amid a flurry of contradictory statements from U.S. officials and NATO members about the shape of the foreign mission in Afghanistan. When President Obama first arrived at the White House, he said troops would begin pulling out in the summer of 2011. Then a NATO meeting pushed the end of the mission to 2014.

Afghans View Peace Talks With Hope, Suspicion

Quil Lawrence — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:18:00 +0000

The surprise announcement last month that the U.S. and the Taliban could soon begin peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar may have increased the chances of a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.

But Afghans are treating the prospect with equal measures of hope and suspicion — perhaps more of the latter from the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Coupled with Pentagon comments this week that U.S.