Newspaper Page Text
♦ SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2007
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F.NI Gary Harmon
LEFT: Christa Henager puts the triplets down for a nap, which didn’t last very long. The babies each have a crib, but their parents like keeping them together in one while they
are small. RIGHT: David Henager isn’t just pitching in to help. He’s chosen to stay at home with his boys while their mom goes back to her job as an engineer for Earth Tech.
Here he feeds little Logan near the formula station. (Triplets go through a lot of bottles)
TRIPLETS
From page iA
David, also an athlete, went
to Mercer on a soccer schol
arship, majored in sociol
ogy and was working at the
Bibb County Department
of Family and Children
Services, was thinking
ahead about the costs and
the responsibilities.
He had a lot on his mind.
For one thing, he wanted
to be a good father. His
parents had divorced before
he was a year old, and his
father - though not far away
- just didn’t show up after
that. David met his own dad
face to face for the first time
when he was 24.
“I just showed up at his
front door,” he says.
They’ve made a relation
ship and stay in touch now.
David even says “We’re a lot
alike.”
But he wanted to be a
really good father and to be
there for his own kids.
When Christa was 20
weeks pregnant, another
sonogram established that
SYSTEM
From page iA
“There are two, almost
identical, variations of the
adapter with the only dif
ference being the connec
tors they use,” Cartagena
said. “This is because one
connects to the aircraft
intercom system, called
the access point, and the
other connects to the user’s
headset, called the portable
transceiver. WIAGO can
operate as a stand-alone
system, independent from
the aircraft intercom sys
tem, or in concert with it,
allowing personnel wearing
a portable transceiver to
communicate with person
nel connected to the aircraft
intercom system via cords.”
The access point does not
require permanent instal
lation and connects to any
active aircraft intercom
terminal, using an aircraft
specific cable, Sergeant
Cartagena said. The por
table transceiver clamps on
to the uniform and has a
banana jack receptacle for
use with standard Air Force
issue headsets.
“WIAGO operates in the
2.4 Gigahertz license free
band,” Sergeant Cartagena
said. “The adapters have 50
channels and can support
31 users per channel, six
in full duplex. Full duplex
capability means no ‘push
to talk’ is needed - similar
to carrying a conversation
on a regular phone using a
receptionist headset.
“The system has a low
probability of intercept
due to its short range and
use of frequency hopping,”
Cartagena added. “It also
has a very effective noise
suppression system; we
were extremely impressed.”
During the demonstra
tion of the system, WIAGO
adapters were used to
transmit and receive during
pre-determined scenarios
and maintenance tasks to
assess the adapter’s func-
the babies were boys - all
three of them.
Moms of “multiples” tend
to have their babies prema
turely. Christa says that
this was explained to her as
a simple matter of the conv
bined weight. The body gets
fooled into thinking it must
be time to give birth, and the
results can mean trouble,
simply because “preemies”
are more fragile, their bod
ies less mature, their lungs
less strong than full-term
babies.
“The goal was for me to
make it to 32 weeks,” she
says. They nearly made it,
too. Then, on Nov. 16, 2006,
there were signs that one of
the babies was getting ready
to be born, and she went
into the Medical Center in
Macon.
They gave her medication
to stop the labor, and began
a series of steroid shots to
build up the babies’ lungs.
Finally, the big day came.
Born by caesarean section,
the Henager’s sons arrived
early in the morning on Nov.
22.
Logan Boone Henager was
tionality. C-5 Galaxy and
KC-10 Extender aircraft
were selected for use in the
demonstration because of
the challenge their large
size would present to the
WIAGO wireless system.
“The logic going in was
if WIAGO works well
with these large aircraft,
it should also work with
smaller ones,” Cartagena
said. “Using maintenance
Airmen at Travis and
Robins to demonstrate the
system made sense because
it provided a larger user
sample and enabled equip
ment assessment in two
different maintenance envi
ronments at organiza
tional and depot levels.”
Some of the maintenance
tasks performed during the
demonstration time period
towing an aircraft,
an engine run and a floor
board installation at the
depot.
During towing, WIAGO
enabled cordless, spoken
communication between
all tow team members,
Cartagena said.
“Being able to commu
nicate specific instructions
directly into one’s ear is
a more efficient approach
than using hand signals,”
he said. “This was also an
improvement when con
necting the tow truck.”
During the engine run,
WIAGO’s noise suppression
capability enabled clear
spoken communication in a
high noise environment of
more than 120 decibels.
“This, in turn, eliminat
ed time wasted repeating
instructions due to back
ground noise,” Cartagena
said. “The system’s compat
ibility with the aircraft com
munication system enabled
an Airman in the cockpit
to communicate with main
tained on the ground as
well as with the air traffic
control tower.”
During the floor board
installation at the depot,
headsets are not normally
used.
born at 5:29 a.m., weighing
4 lbs. 2 oz.
Warren Colben Henager
was born two minutes later,
at 5:31 a.m., weighing 4 lbs.
1 oz.
Tripp Parker Henager was
born at 5:32, weighing 3.12
oz.
The next day was
Thanksgiving, with plenty
to be thankful for.
The babies needed special
care for a few days to make
sure their weight stabilized
and that they were taking
food successfully.
Logan went home with his
parents on Nov. 26, and the
Henagers got started car
ing for one baby while going
back and fort to visit the
others. Warren came home
on Nov. 30, and Tripp, the
smallest at birth, came home
on Dec. 4.
Finally the family of five
was together in one place.
And then there was one
more surprise. DNA testing
established that the triplets
were identical, something
that’s on the order of one in
a million statistically. After
their hospital wristbands
II.S. Air Force photo
Aircraft maintenance airmen use wireless headsets as part of communication capa
bilities tests for the Air Force maintenance career fields. The test was part of an
initiative by the Air Mobiliy Warfare Center’s Air Mobility Battlelab at Fort Dix, N.J.
The airmen are assigned to the 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Travis Air
Force Base, Calif.
“The floor between the
workers, and with rivet gun
noise in the background,
presents a tough commu
nication barrier during
the installation process,”
Cartagena said.
“Yelling instructions,
which is the standard way
of doing things, is ineffi
cient. Use of the aircraft
communications system
would eliminate this prob
lem, but it requires aircraft
power, which isn’t always
permitted during depot
work. Using the WIAGO
system made this opera
LOCAL
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came off, the couple figured
out which was which by
using toenail polish, a green
toenail for Logan, orange for
Warren and blue for Tripp.
In the meantime, David
- awed by the responsibility
of his three sons - had made
a decision. The couple had
investigated the cost of day
care, but plans were still
up in the air until David
decided that he would stay
at home and care for the
babies while Christa went
back to work.
Yes, he was going to be
“Mr. Mom,” and this for
mer soccer champion isn’t a
bit worried about what any
body thinks about the rever
sal of traditional roles. He
says that some of his male
friends have looked a little
perplexed, but he wants to
be there for his boys. He’s
a skilled craftsman who
earned his living for a long
time making fabrications for
restaurant and theme parks,
and he hopes in due time
to undertake some smaller
projects at home. But main
ly he wants to look after his
kids.
tion more efficient by virtu
ally eliminating the need
to repeat instructions when
they aren’t heard.”
Ist. Lt. Steven Leßlanc, a
maintenance officer for the
60th Aircraft Maintenance
Squadron at Travis, said
the wireless intercom sys
tem was well received by
the maintained.
“The airmen expressed
great interest in the sys
tem and felt it would really
help them in their day-to
day operations,” Leßlanc
said. “They appreciated the
fact they were able to move
“I want them to have a
strong male role model,” he
says, holding two babies at
once, one over each shoul
der. “and I can’t wait until
they’re big enough to get on
the floor and roughhouse.”
Christa agreed with the
decision, pointing out that
once they figured out the
costs of paying for someone
else to care for their chil
dren, David’s leaving his job
“meant a little less income
but made sense.”
She was especially con
cerned about exposing the
triplets to possible viruses
and colds, since their lungs
still need to be strength
ened.
As for the babies, they’re
thriving. All three have
reached nine pounds, and
Christa says their pediatri
cian is really happy with
their progress.
She started back to work
last week, content in know
ing that their dad is a “nat
ural” at feeding, burping,
changing diapers and get
ting his restless little ones
down for naps.
Christa and David insist
in and around the aircraft
unrestricted while keeping
clear and sustained commu
nication with their team
mates.”
Although the WIAGO
system did not face every
possible maintenance sce
nario during demonstration
period, it faced enough sce
narios to confidently arrive
at one conclusion - WIAGO
will provide maintenance
personnel increased mobil
ity, improving efficiency and
enhancing communications
capabilities during ground
operations, Cartagena said.
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
they can tell their identi
cal triplets apart. Logan’s
got the biggest head, they
say. Tripp has a tiny red
birthmark on his forehead.
Warren has the “chipmunk
cheeks.”
And there’s no doubt they
can, but to anybody else, the
three bo>s in their match
ing soccer uniform “onesies”
look, well, identical.
The Henagers have had
had help from her mother
and then his mother, but
they’re on their own now,
and Christa’s back at work.
Things are settling down to
a routine.
David’s in charge of the
babies all day, and when
Christa gets home, she
pitches in.
“We just feed them and
change them and chit-chat
and hang out,” she says.
“They’re so much fun and
so cute.”
So, will this couple have
still more kids?
David retrieves a pacifier
for Logan, but puts Tripp
over his shoulder to burp.
“This is our family for
now,” he says firmly.
WRECK
From page iA
emergency room to be
checked out. McLaughlin
said the bus driver, Eleanor
Robinson, bumped her knee
and went to the Med Stop to
be checked out.
McLaughlin said the bus
was going from Houston
County High School to Quail
Run Elementary to pick
up more special education
children. “Another bus was
dispatched to pick up the
children at Quail Run,” she
said.
Warner Robins Police and
Fire departments responded
to the intersection in refer
ence to the accident about
3:04 p.m. to find the Honda
lodged under the school bus.
Houston County Emergency
Medical Services and Warner
Robins Fire Department per
sonnel removed the driver
from the car.
According to police, the
school bus was going north
on U.S. 41 and had the green
light. The car was travel
ing eastbound on Watson
Boulevard in the right lane,
ran a red light, struck the
bus, and came to a final rest
under the bus.
Witnesses reportedly told
police Head had been driving
erratically after getting off
Interstate 75 and the light
changed to red prior to Head
getting to the intersection.
The accident had traffic
backed up on eastbound
Watson Boulevard, U.S. 41
and along Gunn Road for
over an hour.
WALKER
From page iA
County in District 2; Garland
Pinholster of Cherokee
County, District 6; Millard
“Rudy” Bowen of Gwinnett
County, District 7; and Sam
Wellborne of Muscogee
County, District 3.
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