They call themselves "Army Sisters."

Two women, married to U.S. Army captains who were a year apart at West Point, posted at Schofield Barracks and deployed in Afghanistan as part of the famed 2/27 … the 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry known as the "Wolfhounds."

Jennifer Williams and Christine Kolton were fated to be friends, they say, beyond picking up packets and numbers at the same races. They had so many common bonds, from being Army wives, to believing in volunteerism, to being former collegiate athletes. Williams played volleyball at East Carolina and Kolton rowed for UNC Wilmington.

The two became running partners, eventually graduating from 5K races to marathons to sprint triathlons. Both wanted to improve on what they considered their weakest event in the triathlon, that of the opening swim leg.

With husbands gone for a year, Williams, 27, and Kolton, 28, decided to better their water performances.

They will make their swim-only debut Saturday with the first event of the North Shore Swim Series: the Aloha Salads Summer Sprint, a 1-mile race from Sunset Beach to Ehukai Beach Park.

"I heard about it last year, when we first moved here," Williams said of the series. "I didn’t have a good sense of what it was. But we heard more about it, started doing races on the North Shore, got to know the organizers.

"We wanted to train and get better and faster at swimming. Sooooo …"

Although both work — Williams is a substitute teacher, Kolton teaches physical education classes at Hawaii Pacific University while studying for a master’s degree — and are heavily involved with Schofield’s Family Readiness Group, the two have made the commitment. They meet at the stop sign halfway between their homes in Waialua at 5:30 a.m. for an early run, then find mutually open spots in their day planners to get in a swim.

"I couldn’t and wouldn’t do this without her," Williams said of Kolton. "I called her and said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about doing the swim series. What do you think?’ "

"I’ll do anything for a T-shirt," Kolton joked. "It’s the most important thing. And Hawaii races have great T-shirts.

"But, seriously, without her and our workouts, I’d be a mess. It gives us focus and goals."

It’s hard not to think about what’s going on half a world away. There have been too many reminders of the danger that comes with their husbands’ jobs; Wednesday, Williams and Kolton attended a memorial service for PFC Joshua Jetton, a part of the Wolfhound family who was killed in Afghanistan on June 20.

"There’s nothing we can do about what our husbands are doing," Kolton said. "We make the best of it and stay as positive as we can. Jen and I have decided to make the most of our year without the guys.

"I was standing next to her when we said goodbye to them. And I’ll be standing next to her when they come home."

Tom Williams and Michael Kolton are scheduled to return in March. The soldiers receive frequent updates on their wives’ training progress.

"They’re both active guys and they’ve been good supporters," Williams said. "They take pictures at our races when they’re home. I hope they’re proud of us. We’re proud of them."

The Koltons originally received orders to Texas but, as often happens in the military, Michael Kolton was given a chance to return to Hawaii for a second time. He attained his master’s at the University of Hawaii after graduating from West Point in 2005.

The couples were reunited at Schofield last year.

"We don’t know what’s going to happen next for us," Williams said. "But we’ve told the guys they HAVE to stay together. And, we’ve told them whatever orders they get, we (the two women) are staying here.

"We love Hawaii. The community embraces us and makes us feel so welcome. People are always asking for my husband’s address. They probably send him more care packages than I do."

The two women will spend the Fourth of July together, recuperating from Saturday’s race and enjoying the festivities that are such a big part of the Schofield Barracks tradition.

At 2:27 p.m, both of their phones will chime in honor of the 2/27.

And the training partners will answer as one, "Pray for the Wolfhounds."