Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Tim Donovan announced Tuesday the sisters of a soldier killed in combat in Baghdad have decided not to return to their combat units in Iraq, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Spc. Michelle Witmer died in an ambush April 9. Donovan told the State Journal that unit commanders of sisters Rachel and Charity told them not to return.
Donovan, reading a statement from Maj. Gen. Al Wilkening, stressed that their unit commanders asked the sisters to request reassignment
ot because these soldiers are not valid members of their units, but because they are.""
Defense Department policy allows soldiers from a family that suffers a combat death to request exemption from serving duty in a hostile area.
""When I met with Rachel and Charity, I told them that our state would support them if they decided to remain in Wisconsin,"" said Gov. Jim Doyle in a statement. ""... I fully support their decision, and share their belief that it is right for their unit, their family and the state of Wisconsin. Their continued service speaks volumes about their character, and their commitment to their country.\
