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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

Capt. Matthew Dixon, who deployed with the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division, receives a combat patch during his deployment to Afghanistan during the spring of 2020. Dixon's deployment was cut short after the U.S. agreed to withdraw troops from the country under a deal signed with the Taliban in February. <br>U.S. Army
Capt. Matthew Dixon, who deployed with the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division, receives a combat patch during his deployment to Afghanistan during the spring of 2020. Dixon's deployment was cut short after the U.S. agreed to withdraw troops from the country under a deal signed with the Taliban in February. <br>U.S. Army

US troops’ Afghanistan deployments cut short by pandemic, drawdown in tumultuous 2020

After drawing down to 4,500 troops this fall, the number of U.S. forces in the country is expected to be further reduced to 2,500 in January. Some have said that cut, ordered by President Donald Trump this month, could leave a security vacuum.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden meets with service members from Delaware during a visit to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in 2011. Now the president-elect of the United States, Biden has said he supports keeping a residual counterterrorism force in Afghanistan.<br>Michael Sparks/U.S. Army
Then-Vice President Joe Biden meets with service members from Delaware during a visit to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in 2011. Now the president-elect of the United States, Biden has said he supports keeping a residual counterterrorism force in Afghanistan.<br>Michael Sparks/U.S. Army

Biden to weigh keeping counterterror force in Afghanistan, analysts say

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden may look to keep a residual counterterrorism force in Afghanistan, a move expected to face resistance from the Taliban, analysts have said.

In a screenshot from a 2017 NATO Resolute Support video, then-Capt. Mohammad Naiem Asadi talks about flying helicopters for the Afghan Air Force. Now a major, Asadi and his family had been approved to come to the U.S. for their protection until the Pentagon reversed its endorsement of their exit.<br>Resolute Support/DVIDS
In a screenshot from a 2017 NATO Resolute Support video, then-Capt. Mohammad Naiem Asadi talks about flying helicopters for the Afghan Air Force. Now a major, Asadi and his family had been approved to come to the U.S. for their protection until the Pentagon reversed its endorsement of their exit.<br>Resolute Support/DVIDS

Decorated Afghan pilot who protected US airmen is in hiding after Pentagon reverses approval to come to US

The 32-year-old flier is said to have killed more Taliban than any other pilot in the Afghan Air Force during thousands of flight hours, Afghan and U.S. military officers told Stars and Stripes.

Afghans are supposed to take control of Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from U.S. and NATO troops when they leave the country, but officials say the locals are not up to the job.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Afghans are supposed to take control of Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from U.S. and NATO troops when they leave the country, but officials say the locals are not up to the job.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

With locals untrained on key functions, US departure could mean trouble for Afghanistan’s airports

Locals haven’t been shown how to run the air traffic control tower, man the radar or perform a number of other crucial tasks handled by NATO personnel at Kandahar’s Ahmad Shab Baba International Airport, said the facility’s director of civil aviation.

A child sits in a mop bucket hidden in the shade of shelving on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at the ''Bush Bazaar'' in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where items thrown out by U.S. and NATO troops and contractors are available for purchase.<br>J.P. LAWRENCE / STARS AND STRIPES
A child sits in a mop bucket hidden in the shade of shelving on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at the ''Bush Bazaar'' in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where items thrown out by U.S. and NATO troops and contractors are available for purchase.<br>J.P. LAWRENCE / STARS AND STRIPES

Business in discarded US military goods is booming as Kandahar base empties out

Nearly every day, workers sort through shipping containers from Kandahar Airfield in hopes of finding anything that U.S. and NATO troops withdrawing from Afghanistan don’t want that Afghans can sell.

A child sits in a mop bucket hidden in the shade of shelving on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at the ''Bush Bazaar'' in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where items thrown out by U.S. and NATO troops and contractors are available for purchase.<br>J.P. LAWRENCE / STARS AND STRIPES
A child sits in a mop bucket hidden in the shade of shelving on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at the ''Bush Bazaar'' in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where items thrown out by U.S. and NATO troops and contractors are available for purchase.<br>J.P. LAWRENCE / STARS AND STRIPES

Business in discarded US military goods is booming as Kandahar base empties out

Nearly every day, workers sort through shipping containers from Kandahar Airfield in hopes of finding anything that U.S. and NATO troops withdrawing from Afghanistan don’t want that Afghans can sell.

In this YouTube screenshot, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III makes an emergency landing at Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Oct. 18, 2020, with the nose landing gear still up.<br>YouTube
In this YouTube screenshot, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III makes an emergency landing at Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Oct. 18, 2020, with the nose landing gear still up.<br>YouTube

Air Force C-17 pilot lauded for airmanship in Kandahar emergency landing

A video shows a C-17 in Afghanistan landing on a runway with its nose landing gear up at Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport on the morning of Oct. 18.

An aerial view of Pul-e Charki prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 16, 2012.<br>U.S. State Department
An aerial view of Pul-e Charki prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 16, 2012.<br>U.S. State Department

Sewage spills, contaminated water and Iranian building materials found at US-funded prison site in Afghanistan

Staff are at risk due to deficiencies found at a wastewater treatment facility for Afghanistan's largest prison, a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said.

A Romanian soldier walks next to his armored vehicle in Afghanistan, in an undated photo. On Wednesday, two Romanian soldiers were injured by a bomb blast in Kandahar province. <br>Romania Ministry of Defense/Facebook
A Romanian soldier walks next to his armored vehicle in Afghanistan, in an undated photo. On Wednesday, two Romanian soldiers were injured by a bomb blast in Kandahar province. <br>Romania Ministry of Defense/Facebook

NATO troops wounded in IED blast in Afghanistan

A bomb blast in southern Afghanistan wounded two Romanian soldiers, NATO Resolute Support said.

An American military contractor pleaded guilty Oct. 13, 2020, to her role in a theft ring on a military installation in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2015. Among the items she and another contractor conspired to steal were a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, a Toyota van, various vehicle parts, refrigerators and generators.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
An American military contractor pleaded guilty Oct. 13, 2020, to her role in a theft ring on a military installation in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2015. Among the items she and another contractor conspired to steal were a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, a Toyota van, various vehicle parts, refrigerators and generators.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

US contractor pleads guilty to forging paperwork in Kandahar theft ring

A supervisor at an office that issued security badges drafted false paperwork that allowed unvetted Afghan workers to enter the base to pick up stolen goods to be sold to locals off base, court documents said.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Barry Cornish, 12th Air Force commander, returns the salute of Master Sgt. Adam Fagan, 48th Rescue Squadron pararescueman, during a Bronze Star presentation ceremony at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2020. Fagan was presented the Bronze Star Medal with valor for his actions during a mission last year in Afghanistan. <br> Jacob T. Stephens/U.S. Air Force
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Barry Cornish, 12th Air Force commander, returns the salute of Master Sgt. Adam Fagan, 48th Rescue Squadron pararescueman, during a Bronze Star presentation ceremony at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2020. Fagan was presented the Bronze Star Medal with valor for his actions during a mission last year in Afghanistan. <br> Jacob T. Stephens/U.S. Air Force

Air Force pararescuemen receive Bronze Stars with valor for life-saving actions in Afghanistan

Two airmen were recognized for their actions during separate missions with Army Special Forces units in the southern province of Helmand.