Shepard Graduate, Army Specialist To Join Twin Sister In Kuwait

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL — Friends and family gave Hanna Van Witzenburg a sendoff before is deployed to Kuwait later this week. The 23-year-old Palos Heights woman will be joining her twin sister, Chloe, who has been in Kuwait since September.

“Going to the same base as my sister is amazing,” Van Witzenburg said. “It’s so much harder to talk to friends and family about the military. We’re on the same page with what our units are going through, whether it’s complaining or getting advice.”

While at Shepard High School, the twin sisters signed up for the Army Reserves on the same day at age 17. Both needed their parents’ permission.

“Our parents allowed us to join after a long talk,” she said. “I knew I wanted to better myself and my future. The military is notorious for discipline and making you string, It looks good when you’re older getting jobs. I knew it would make me a better person.”

Van Witzenburg went for basic training at Fort Sill, Okla. Her sister followed her there for basic training a month later.

“We were in different battalions,” she said. “We saw each other every Sunday at church.”

The Shepard High School graduate has been working as a 911 dispatcher for the Chicago Ridge Police Department. Van Witzenburg is an E4 specialist with the 75th Military Police Company, where she has been making the 9-hour drive to Joplin, MO to be with her unit. She will be supporting the MP’s in Kuwait as a corrections officer.

“My classification is Interment Resettlement Specialist,” Van Witzenburg said.” We are dealing with U.S. military and local pretrial detainees.”

Her parents, Darin and Carla, are both from the school of thought that their daughters are trained above and for whatever they’ll be dealing with.

“It’s letting go itself that’s hard. At least there’s no turmoil [in Kuwait], as far as we know,” Carla Van Witzenburg said. “They’re finding out as young women how strong they are. They’re doing it for all the right reasons -- to go to college.”

“They’re both capable young adults,” said their father, Darin Van Witzenburg.

On Thursday, Van Witzenburg will depart for pre-mobilization in Fort Bliss, Tex., before deployment to Kuwait, where her unit will be supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

“We have to follow quarantine orders. We’ll get tested for COVID and there will be a quarantine period,” she said. “We’ll still have to wear face masks.”

While partying with family and friends on her parents’ driveway Sunday, 50 riders from the Canaryville Veteran Riders Association, which supports causes close to veterans, law enforcement and firefighters, honored Van Witzenburg with a procession.

“It was amazing,” Van Witzenburg said. “The support is nothing that I would expect.”

Sister Chloe, who outranks her sister as a sergeant, is due back in July. Hanna will be deployed for 400 days, which also includes “premob” and “demob” in Fort Hood. Her sister tells her Kuwait is hot -- 110 degrees during the day.

“I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting so long and got a good group of soldiers coming with,” Van Witzenburg said, who hopes to achieve the rank of sergeant in Kuwait as well as an increase in pay grade. “It will be hot, but I like the heat.”

This story has been updated with new information.