Several dozen women veterans blanketed Capitol Hill offices Thursday with letters of outrage over recent Defense Department moves they see as working to erase or undermine the roles of women in the armed forces .

“Women in the military are not distractions, not problems to be managed,” Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of the Vet Voice Foundation and a Marine Crops veteran, said at a press event ahead of the congressional office visits. “We are war fighters, we are leaders, we are patriots, and every person who meets the standard deserves the opportunity to serve with no exceptions.

“Men and women in uniform who are currently serving do not have the ability to speak freely because of their service, but we do, and we will not be silent.”

Thursday’s event came amid a host of recent completed and

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