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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

U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, NATO-led Resolute Support mission and United States Forces-Afghanistan commander. <br>Courtesy Resolute Support
U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, NATO-led Resolute Support mission and United States Forces-Afghanistan commander. <br>Courtesy Resolute Support

US military officials say commander did not visit Mazar-e-Sharif

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan did not travel to the northern city, according to the U.S.-led NATO Resolute Support mission. An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday that Army Gen. Scott Miller had made the trip.

U.S. soldiers move toward a village near Forward Operating Base Zangabad in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in 2013. The U. S. and the Taliban have drafted an agreement in principle on two of four core issues at the center of peace talks intended to end America's longest war.<br>Stars and Stripes
U.S. soldiers move toward a village near Forward Operating Base Zangabad in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in 2013. The U. S. and the Taliban have drafted an agreement in principle on two of four core issues at the center of peace talks intended to end America's longest war.<br>Stars and Stripes

US-Taliban peace talks see progress, but no breakthrough

The United States and the Taliban have drafted an agreement in principle on two of four core issues at the center of peace talks intended to end the U.S.’s longest war, but officials and experts say much work remains.

A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter prepares for liftoff during offensive operations against the Taliban in Tarin Kot district, Uruzgan province, August 18, 2018. <br>Anthony Martinez/U.S. Army
A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter prepares for liftoff during offensive operations against the Taliban in Tarin Kot district, Uruzgan province, August 18, 2018. <br>Anthony Martinez/U.S. Army

Friendly fire between Afghan, American forces leaves five dead

The firefight was a result of a lack of communication between Afghan forces, a senior Defense Ministry official said. No Americans were killed or wounded in the incident, said a spokesman for NATO’S Resolute Support mission.

In this undated image released by the FBI, Mullah Omar is seen in a wanted poster. A new report claims that the Taliban?s shadowy founder died near an American base, FOB Wolverine in Afghanistan, not in Pakistan.<br>FBI/AP
In this undated image released by the FBI, Mullah Omar is seen in a wanted poster. A new report claims that the Taliban?s shadowy founder died near an American base, FOB Wolverine in Afghanistan, not in Pakistan.<br>FBI/AP

Taliban leader spent last days just miles from US base, report says

Experts and intelligence analysts have long believed Mullah Mohammad Omar fled to Pakistan after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001. But the Taliban’s one-eyed leader actually might have remained in Afghanistan and relinquished direct command of the group, according to the report.

A man injured by an explosion is treated in an ambulance, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 7, 2019.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP
A man injured by an explosion is treated in an ambulance, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 7, 2019.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP

Mortar attack strikes gathering of Afghan leaders

The attack in Kabul, involving as many as 10 mortar shells, targeted a memorial attended by hundreds of ethnic Hazara, as well as the government’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, former president Hamid Karzai and presidential candidate Hanif Atmar, media reports said.

A man injured by an explosion is treated in an ambulance, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 7, 2019.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP
A man injured by an explosion is treated in an ambulance, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 7, 2019.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP

Mortar attack strikes gathering of Afghan leaders

The attack in Kabul, involving as many as 10 mortar shells, targeted a memorial attended by hundreds of ethnic Hazara, as well as the government’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, former president Hamid Karzai and presidential candidate Hanif Atmar, media reports said.

The remains of buildings at what was once Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar province now fall apart due to a lack of resources to maintain them.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
The remains of buildings at what was once Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar province now fall apart due to a lack of resources to maintain them.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Welcome to ‘Zombieland’: A former US Army base rots in the hands of overwhelmed Afghans

At a base Americans handed over to Afghan forces in 2014, roaming packs of feral dogs now bed down at a former helicopter landing pad, crows pick over scrap heaps, and snow blows through collapsed walls of wood huts that once housed military offices.

A Sexual Assault Prevention and Response mural at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.<br>Courtesy of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing
A Sexual Assault Prevention and Response mural at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.<br>Courtesy of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing

Bagram air wing gets poor reviews on sexual assault response

An Air Force combat wing at Bagram Air Field has received poor reviews in how it responded to sexual assault among deployed airmen last year, which some advocates said was a troubling issue at the U.S. military’s largest base in Afghanistan.

<br> Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes
<br> Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes

Taliban launch attack against key Afghan base as peace talks continue

The complex attack on Camp Shorab in the largely insurgent-controlled Helmand province occurred during a pause in peace talks in Doha, which could bring an eventual end to U.S. military involvement in the country.

Zach Brooks, 32, suffered a brain injury while deployed to Kuwait in 2016. He was airlifted from Kuwait back to America, and used video games during his recovery.<br>Courtesy of Elaine Brooks
Zach Brooks, 32, suffered a brain injury while deployed to Kuwait in 2016. He was airlifted from Kuwait back to America, and used video games during his recovery.<br>Courtesy of Elaine Brooks

Veteran's Pokemon battles help him fight back after TBI

A stroke robbed Zach Brooks of his memory, fine-motor skills and even parts of his identity as a soldier, but the father of two is rebounding partly with help from a world of flaming lizards, electrified rodents and flowering dinosaurs.

Stamps used to forge passes for Jews persecuted by the Nazis. The German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin honors Germans who fought against the Nazi regime.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Stamps used to forge passes for Jews persecuted by the Nazis. The German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin honors Germans who fought against the Nazi regime.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

europe quick trips

German Resistance Memorial honors those who fought against Nazi regime

In an unassuming building in the capital city of Berlin, there is a museum dedicated to those in Germany who risked and lost their lives resisting the Nazis.