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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

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy A. Bolyard, who was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan on Sept. 3, 2018, ''didn't go down without a fight,'' his son Preston Bolyard said after reading a recently released Army report that gave more details about the attack. <br>U.S. Army
Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy A. Bolyard, who was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan on Sept. 3, 2018, ''didn't go down without a fight,'' his son Preston Bolyard said after reading a recently released Army report that gave more details about the attack. <br>U.S. Army

‘He didn’t go down without a fight’: Report details 2018 Afghan insider attack that killed soldier

He was shot in the back as he ran for cover, but Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard managed to draw his pistol and spin around before falling to the ground.

An Afghan National Army soldier prepares to fire an 82mm light mortar outside Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2012. The United Nations said Tuesday, June 30, 2020, that the Afghan army was responsible for an attack that left dozens, including children, killed or injured in Helmand province on Monday. Soldiers missed their targets while fighting the Taliban and the mortars landed in a cattle market, the U.N. said.<br>Cpl. Ammon W. Carter/U.S. Marine Corps
An Afghan National Army soldier prepares to fire an 82mm light mortar outside Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2012. The United Nations said Tuesday, June 30, 2020, that the Afghan army was responsible for an attack that left dozens, including children, killed or injured in Helmand province on Monday. Soldiers missed their targets while fighting the Taliban and the mortars landed in a cattle market, the U.N. said.<br>Cpl. Ammon W. Carter/U.S. Marine Corps

Afghan forces launched mortar attacks that killed civilians in Helmand, UN says

he Afghan military was responsible for errant mortar attacks that killed or injured dozens at a cattle market in southern Helmand province this week, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The sun sets over Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan, in this file photo. Military contractor Fluor Corp. was ordered to cease providing many services at the base near the city of Jalalabad, according to a memo issued June 22, 2020, as part of coronavirus prevention measures.<br>U.S. Army
The sun sets over Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan, in this file photo. Military contractor Fluor Corp. was ordered to cease providing many services at the base near the city of Jalalabad, according to a memo issued June 22, 2020, as part of coronavirus prevention measures.<br>U.S. Army

Army halts MWR at Afghanistan base, orders contractors to leave to prevent virus spread

The U.S. military has ordered contractors in eastern Afghanistan to leave base as part of coronavirus prevention measures, forcing the closure of Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities and other nonessential services.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signs a decree in 2016 establishing an independent Anti Corruption Justice Center in Kabul, responsible for tackling high-level corruption in Afghanistan. John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, says American patience is waning as corruption efforts in Afghanistan have stalled in the last year.<br>
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signs a decree in 2016 establishing an independent Anti Corruption Justice Center in Kabul, responsible for tackling high-level corruption in Afghanistan. John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, says American patience is waning as corruption efforts in Afghanistan have stalled in the last year.<br>

‘Time is running out’ for Afghanistan to stop corruption, US inspector general says

Kabul’s failure to tackle corruption will weaken its bargaining position during peace talks and risks angering governments who are “weary of paying Afghanistan’s bills,” a U.S. official has warned.

U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, June 10, 2017. President Donald Trump viewed a troop increase in Afghanistan early in his term as a failure, former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a book released to the public Tuesday.<br>Justin T. Updegraff/U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, June 10, 2017. President Donald Trump viewed a troop increase in Afghanistan early in his term as a failure, former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a book released to the public Tuesday.<br>Justin T. Updegraff/U.S. Marine Corps

Bolton memoir recounts Trump’s frustrations with war in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump viewed a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan as a failure and sought to withdraw from the country early in his term, former National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote in a book released to the public Tuesday.

U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, June 10, 2017. President Donald Trump viewed a troop increase in Afghanistan early in his term as a failure, former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a book released to the public Tuesday.<br>Justin T. Updegraff/U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, June 10, 2017. President Donald Trump viewed a troop increase in Afghanistan early in his term as a failure, former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a book released to the public Tuesday.<br>Justin T. Updegraff/U.S. Marine Corps

Bolton memoir recounts Trump’s frustrations with war in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump viewed a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan as a failure and sought to withdraw from the country early in his term, former National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote in a book released to the public Tuesday.

Mohammad Nadir, from left, Marine Corps Maj. Mark Nicholson and Fnu Farid reunite in 2017 in California after serving together in Sangin District, Helmand province, Afghanistan.<br>Jessica Quezada/U.S. Marine Corps
Mohammad Nadir, from left, Marine Corps Maj. Mark Nicholson and Fnu Farid reunite in 2017 in California after serving together in Sangin District, Helmand province, Afghanistan.<br>Jessica Quezada/U.S. Marine Corps

Understaffed, uncoordinated: IG outlines flaws in visa program for war zone interpreters

A program to provide U.S. visas for interpreters who worked with American forces during the war in Afghanistan is understaffed, uncoordinated and reliant on outdated technology, a State Department Inspector General report said.

Andrea and Jerry Bortner, now an Army captain, pose in an undated photo. The couple bought a home near Fort Belvoir, Va., but were unable to move in due to a Pentagon stop-movement order, which left them paying for two homes at the same time, while receiving one housing allowance.<br>Andrea Bortner
Andrea and Jerry Bortner, now an Army captain, pose in an undated photo. The couple bought a home near Fort Belvoir, Va., but were unable to move in due to a Pentagon stop-movement order, which left them paying for two homes at the same time, while receiving one housing allowance.<br>Andrea Bortner

Pentagon’s stop-movement order creates financial burden for some families

Tens of thousands of military families' permanent change of station moves have been delayed by the Pentagon's stop-movement order issued in March, and many of them are facing financial difficulties because of the backlog.

Baran ''Rainman,'' a former Iraqi linguist, and the man who sponsored him for a Special Immigrant Visa, then-1st Lt. David Henderson, a psychological operations officer attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, hold an expended artillery round that landed near their base during a 2009 deployment to Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq. <br>U.S. Army
Baran ''Rainman,'' a former Iraqi linguist, and the man who sponsored him for a Special Immigrant Visa, then-1st Lt. David Henderson, a psychological operations officer attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, hold an expended artillery round that landed near their base during a 2009 deployment to Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq. <br>U.S. Army

Court approves plan to fix visa delays for war zone interpreters

A federal judge in Washington has approved a plan to speed up visa applications for more than 9,000 interpreters who assisted U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A South Korean army nurse escorts an Afghan woman through a medical wellness check at the Korean Hospital near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in a photo taken April 25, 2007. The hospital was heavily damaged in a Taliban attack on Dec. 11, 2019, and now is being razed, NATO Resolute Support officials said this week.<br>Rodney Carreiro/U.S. Army
A South Korean army nurse escorts an Afghan woman through a medical wellness check at the Korean Hospital near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in a photo taken April 25, 2007. The hospital was heavily damaged in a Taliban attack on Dec. 11, 2019, and now is being razed, NATO Resolute Support officials said this week.<br>Rodney Carreiro/U.S. Army

Hospital outside Bagram demolished months after being damaged in Taliban attack

A hospital outside America’s largest base in Afghanistan has been razed after it was irreparably damaged in a Taliban attack last year, when the militants tried to breach Bagram Airfield, officials said.

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

Suicide bombing at Kabul mosque kills two, wounds two

A security guard for the U.S. Embassy and a prominent religious scholar died after a suicide bomb blast struck a mosque near the entrance of Kabul’s diplomatic zone.