The 2022 Quincy Award for Responsible Statecraft
The Quincy Institute presented Rosie Torres, Captain LeRoy Torres, and Burn Pits 360 – the organization they founded together – with the Quincy Award for Responsible Statecraft at an event on Capitol Hill on December 13th. The annual award celebrates Americans whose accomplishments best exemplify the Quincy Institute’s founding mission to promote ideas that move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war and toward vigorous diplomacy in the pursuit of international peace.
For more on the award, watch the video at the bottom of this page.
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos served as the MC for the event and recognized the Torreses’ extraordinary advocacy and relentless pursuit of government accountability for veterans’ illnesses from exposure to toxic burn pits while serving their country in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their efforts culminated in Congress passing and President Biden signing the PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act into law in August 2022.
Lora Lumpe presented the Torreses with the Quincy Award. The inscription on it reads:
Rosie and LeRoy Torres
Recipients of the 3rd Annual
Quincy Award for Responsible Statecraft
For extraordinary advocacy through Burn Pits 360
on behalf of American service members.
December 13, 2022
The ceremony also included video tributes from QI Chairman of the Board Andrew Bacevich and comedian Jon Stewart, who became a critical part of the advocacy push for the PACT Act, as well as live music from the Thad Wilson Trio.
It concluded with a moving acceptance speech from Captain LeRoy Torres.
Video:
