The two Wisconsin sisters of a female soldier killed this month in Baghdad said Tuesday that they will not rejoin their Army National Guard units in Iraq.
The Pentagon gave Spc. Rachel Witmer, 24, and Sgt. Charity Witmer, 20, the option of finishing their service without returning to their tight-knit units in a war zone. Their ordeal drew national attention when their father called on the Army to stop his surviving daughters from returning to Iraq.
The sisters had been weighing their options at home in New Berlin, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee, since accompanying their sister's body back from Iraq for her funeral April 16.
They said at the time that they were torn between their two families — the one in Wisconsin and their military family in Iraq. They said their decision not to return was in part because of the Army's concern that the media attention might make the women and their units targets.
"We have been faced with a profoundly difficult and complex decision. It is, by far, the most difficult decision we have ever made," the sisters said in a statement read at a news conference in Madison, Wis.
Their sister, Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, was killed April 9 when her Humvee was attacked. Michelle, Charity's identical twin, served in the same military police unit as Rachel.
Pentagon policy states that if a soldier dies while serving in a hostile area, other soldiers from the family may be reassigned outside the war zone. The request, however, must come from the surviving soldier.
The Army gave the sisters 15 days to decide whether to return to Iraq. Earlier this week, the deadline was extended another 15 days.
It is "a simple policy . . . but excruciating decisions," Maj. Gen. Al Wilkening, commander of the Wisconsin National Guard, said in a statement. "At the same time they mourned their sister . . . they wrestled with this enormous decision while under the spotlight of international attention."
Their parents, John and Lori Witmer, were outspoken in their wish that the surviving sisters not return to a war zone. He told the Associated Press: "The sacrifice that this family's made can never be understood by someone who hasn't gone through it. It's a burden I can't bear. My family can't bear it."
Neither parent could be reached for comment Tuesday.
Wilkening said he spoke with the sisters Monday and suggested they request the exemption from war-zone service. He said the commanders of both women's units concurred. "It was not only based on the needs of two grieving families, but also for the welfare of other troops," Wilkening said.
In the end, the sisters followed Wilkening's advice.
"Although he said he could not "order' us to request reassignment, he was very clear to point out that a decision to return to Iraq might expose our fellow soldiers to increased danger. This we will not do," the sisters said in their statement. "We especially treasure the friendship, camaraderie and heartfelt sympathy shared with us by (our units). We know you mourn the loss of Michelle with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with you until you return home safely."
Their new assignments, which might be in Wisconsin, haven't been decided yet by the Army.