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J.P. Lawrence

J.P. Lawrence is a downrange reporter covering Afghanistan and Iraq.

Lawrence joined Stripes in 2018. He previously reported for the San Antonio Express and Albany Times Union. He has written in the U.S. and Africa for the New York Review of Books, Vice, the Intercept and the Associated Press. He served in the U.S. Army and went to Bard College and Columbia University in New York.

Email: lawrence.jp@stripes.com

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles stand in a row before going out on a mission in eastern Afghanistan. A whistleblower case alleges that a defense contractor, Navistar, bilked the Pentagon out of more than $1 billion on a contract to build MRAP vehicles.<br>Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles stand in a row before going out on a mission in eastern Afghanistan. A whistleblower case alleges that a defense contractor, Navistar, bilked the Pentagon out of more than $1 billion on a contract to build MRAP vehicles.<br>Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes

Whistleblower lawsuit claims defense contractor defrauded Pentagon of $1.3 billion in MRAP deal

A defense vehicle manufacturer has been accused by one of its former employees of bilking the Pentagon of $1.3 billion by vastly overcharging the Marine Corps for components of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Knadle, second from right, his wife Silkey, daughter Starling and son Eason Bertone reunite in Fort Hood, Texas, on July 1, 2018, after the Army pilot finished a rotation in Germany. Knadle, 33, died while on a mission on Nov. 20, 2019, in Afghanistan.<br>Silkey Knadle
Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Knadle, second from right, his wife Silkey, daughter Starling and son Eason Bertone reunite in Fort Hood, Texas, on July 1, 2018, after the Army pilot finished a rotation in Germany. Knadle, 33, died while on a mission on Nov. 20, 2019, in Afghanistan.<br>Silkey Knadle

Apache pilot killed in Afghanistan ‘gladly and willingly’ accepted risks of deploying, family and friends say

Five-year-old Starling Knadle sat on her mother’s lap, her 15-year-old brother sitting beside her wearing a cavalry Stetson, as six Army pallbearers loaded their father’s coffin into a waiting hearse during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, on Tuesday.

Afghan children draw water at a camp on the outskirts of Herat. The U.S. Agency for International Development has spent $589 million since 2010 to feed starving Afghans, but a lack of oversight means no one knows how much of that was stolen, a Pentagon watchdog group said.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Afghan children draw water at a camp on the outskirts of Herat. The U.S. Agency for International Development has spent $589 million since 2010 to feed starving Afghans, but a lack of oversight means no one knows how much of that was stolen, a Pentagon watchdog group said.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

SIGAR: Were America’s efforts to help feed Afghans fruitful? No one can say.

The U.S. Agency for International Development spent the money to feed starving Afghan families, but a lack of oversight amid reports of theft by both insurgents and government workers leaves no way to account for what has happened to the food, a report by the Special Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan said late last month.

An Afghan National Army soldier who shot and killed his commander in October in the remote northern province of Sar-e-Pul, shown, over a dispute about back wages was sentenced to death last week.<br>U.S. Department of Defense
An Afghan National Army soldier who shot and killed his commander in October in the remote northern province of Sar-e-Pul, shown, over a dispute about back wages was sentenced to death last week.<br>U.S. Department of Defense

Afghan soldier sentenced to death for killing his commander over pay dispute

An Afghan military court sentenced Sayed Musa to death for the premeditated murder in October of his commanding officer Hashmatullah Yaqobi.

A swollen river roars through a mountain valley in Afghanistan's eastern Badakhshan province July, 2019. The Afghan government last week terminated the contracts for an American company, Centar Ltd., which aimed to begin work on a gold mine project in the mountainous region.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
A swollen river roars through a mountain valley in Afghanistan's eastern Badakhshan province July, 2019. The Afghan government last week terminated the contracts for an American company, Centar Ltd., which aimed to begin work on a gold mine project in the mountainous region.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Kabul terminates contract for US-based firm's gold and copper mine project

The Afghan government has canceled the contract for a U.S.-based company to develop gold and copper mines in a remote province in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

A swollen river roars through a mountain valley in Afghanistan's eastern Badakhshan province July, 2019. The Afghan government last week terminated the contracts for an American company, Centar Ltd., which aimed to begin work on a gold mine project in the mountainous region.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
A swollen river roars through a mountain valley in Afghanistan's eastern Badakhshan province July, 2019. The Afghan government last week terminated the contracts for an American company, Centar Ltd., which aimed to begin work on a gold mine project in the mountainous region.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Kabul terminates contract for US-based firm's gold and copper mine project

The Afghan government has canceled the contract for a U.S.-based company to develop gold and copper mines in a remote province in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kirk T. Fuchigami Jr., left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 David C. Knadle were killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.<br>
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kirk T. Fuchigami Jr., left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 David C. Knadle were killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.<br>

Army pilots killed in helicopter crash in Afghanistan remembered for their 'heroic legacy' and heart

One of the Army pilots killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday in Afghanistan got married just eight months ago. His co-pilot was married with two children and had just begun to have success as a bodybuilder.

Armed militants watch a convoy pass through Logar province during a cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government in 2018. A new reports says the terror group killed more than 6,000 people last year.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Armed militants watch a convoy pass through Logar province during a cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government in 2018. A new reports says the terror group killed more than 6,000 people last year.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

US, allies’ military successes drove down terrorism deaths almost everywhere except Afghanistan, report says

Military successes by the U.S. and its allies against terrorist groups helped drive down global deaths from terrorism in 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, a report released this week said. But terrorism deaths in Afghanistan soared by nearly 60% to more than 7,300 in 2018.

U.S. assault amphibious vehicles depart the dock landing ship USS Germantown for a beach landing during exercise Tiger Triumph in the Bay of Bengal, India, Nov. 19, 2019.<br>Toni Burton/U.S. Navy
U.S. assault amphibious vehicles depart the dock landing ship USS Germantown for a beach landing during exercise Tiger Triumph in the Bay of Bengal, India, Nov. 19, 2019.<br>Toni Burton/U.S. Navy

US Marines, Indian military build ties in first Tiger Triumph exercise

U.S. Marines and sailors are in eastern India for the inaugural Tiger Triumph humanitarian exercise, a drill that U.S. officials and analysts say is part of a growing partnership in a region where China is increasingly active.

The logo for U.S. Forces Afghanistan.<br>Facebook
The logo for U.S. Forces Afghanistan.<br>Facebook

Two US service members killed in helicopter crash in Afghanistan

Two U.S. service members were killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday in Afghanistan, a statement from U.S. Forces Afghanistan said.

A fighter for Islamic State lines up Nov. 19, 2019 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, after surrendering to the Afghan government. An estimated 2,000 ISIS fighters and their family members are expected to surrender after government offensives, supported by U.S. and coalition forces, cut off their supply lines. <br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
A fighter for Islamic State lines up Nov. 19, 2019 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, after surrendering to the Afghan government. An estimated 2,000 ISIS fighters and their family members are expected to surrender after government offensives, supported by U.S. and coalition forces, cut off their supply lines. <br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Islamic State’s ‘backbone was broken’ in Afghanistan as hundreds surrender

Hundreds of Islamic State fighters have surrendered after separate operations by government forces and the Taliban hemmed them into the mountainside in the country’s south, Afghan officials said Tuesday.