For much of the war, which began in spring 2014, official government forces did not permit women to fight on the front lines; the 17,000 women who served in the military were allowed to work in only supporting roles, such as medics, engineers and administrators. The hundreds of women who were desperate to fight instead joined nationalist paramilitary groups, which did offer women combat roles. The integration of the militias into the army in July 2015 meant that female fighters suddenly found themselves in an official army that did not permit them to fight. To get around this restriction, many registered on paper as paramedics or support personnel to avoid being sent home. However, they still fought as they had before. In 2017, a new law was adopted that allowed women to enroll in the army as soldiers and fight at the frontline. The women veterans of battle and the role women have played in support of combat has created a new class of veteran, with different needs, although combat related. These delegations will observe how female veterans are treated through the U.S. Veterans Administration and other formal and informal societal support networks for woman veterans from health (disabilities, addictions and PTSD) to other livelihood matters (jobs, safe housing, healthy food).