# Clearing CUSTOMS Split from:  BOOT REGULATIONS:



## Quirky (11 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> Steel not just 'safety'?
> 
> I have Reebok thru the supply system;  weight next to nothing, CSA grade 1 composites.



I remember going through security at YQQ* in uniform. Everyone had to take their boots off because of the steel toe. I was wearing my safety Magnums and I politely told the old gentlemen that these aren't steel toe and won't set off the detector. His response was "I was in the military for 30 years and if you are wearing safety boots they are steel!". Needless to say the detector was not set off, I didn't remove my boots and he owes me a beer next time I'm in town.

(what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?) 

/rant.

The desert steel toes are real garbage, the toe caps wear out and steel is exposed after a month or two of use. Same goes with the black steel toe boots, you drag those things on the flight line enough times through normal use and they are garbage. Guys would have to use PRC to temporarily patch the exposed steel until their order came in, sometimes took months. My super awesome #1 magnums are still intact after 5 years of flight line use, only the bottom tread has worn down slightly. I'll probably never wear an issued boot again if I don't have to. $200 every 5 years is a small price to pay not to be in discomfort. 


[Split from  BOOT REGULATIONS: issued vs. non-issued vs. non-standard boots and retitled.


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## Eye In The Sky (11 Dec 2015)

Quirky said:
			
		

> (what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?)



I asked the same kind of question;  apparently the RCAF agreed or was told they have to abide by TC rules for running PAX ops.  Something like that.  I really prefer _*Aurora Air*_.

 :facepalm:


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## McG (11 Dec 2015)

Quirky said:
			
		

> (what is this crap about having to go through security from a military base, on a military transport aircraft, to another military base. You really think I'm going to high jack the plane with my nail clippers when there is a fucking AXE on board?)


I had to pass my weapon, fighting order and ammo through the x-Ray for flights between different coalition bases in Afghanistan.


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## Humphrey Bogart (12 Dec 2015)

It's not about hijackings, it's about contraband.  Ever heard of Frank Lucas?  Just because someone is military doesn't make them immune to crime.


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## Scoobie Newbie (12 Dec 2015)

Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane


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## Humphrey Bogart (12 Dec 2015)

Sheep Dog AT said:
			
		

> Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane



Never said rules aren't applied stupidly or that government decisions aren't dumb sometimes.  You assume that people making these decisions actually think.  Your experience in our organization should be enough to tell you that isn't the case.


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## AmmoTech90 (12 Dec 2015)

Sheep Dog AT said:
			
		

> Then why lock up our multi tools in an Ammo can under the belly of a Cdn Mil plane



Because the plane might have to divert to a civilian airport and unload the pax for what ever reason.  The pax are then in the security cleared area with knives.  The fact you are military doesn't mean anything dealing with most foreign bureaucracies.
So the decision is:

A. Look like a bit a knob for making soldiers drop off their multi-tools before boarding a RCAF passenger flight?
or
B. Have to deal with getting a soldier who was arrested in a Kenyan (or where-ever) airport for opening a bag of jerky with their multi-tool?


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## Scoobie Newbie (12 Dec 2015)

Thank you for that. Would have been nice to have been told that at the beginning.


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## Eye In The Sky (13 Dec 2015)

AmmoTech90 said:
			
		

> Because the plane might have to divert to a civilian airport and unload the pax for what ever reason.  The pax are then in the security cleared area with knives.  The fact you are military doesn't mean anything dealing with most foreign bureaucracies.



Some people who are diverted have more to worry about than a Gerber...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.


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## NL_engineer (13 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> ...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.



Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.


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## AmmoTech90 (13 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> Some people who are diverted have more to worry about than a Gerber...I usually have NATO travel orders or something when I'm on the move and the fact I have them means something to the countries I travel to.



Cool, didn't know that NATO travel orders let passengers bypass security.  Seeing as you are normally air crew I don't think your experience is relevant to this situation.  Coming out of Africa I was happy that I had given up my Gerber and could go into the Italian duty free area and stock up on cheap wine.  I know of the two times I have bothered to get NATO travel orders, once they never saw the light of day, the second time the unit I was visiting asked if I had them and was happy with my "yes".


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## OldSolduer (14 Dec 2015)

NL_engineer said:
			
		

> Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.


v

I have a story from 1976 returning from Cyprus. 

Customs decided that the last flight back was to be thoroughly searched. We finally go out of the airport about 0030 hours. There were a lot of peeved wives and families.


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## Eye In The Sky (14 Dec 2015)

NL_engineer said:
			
		

> Yet Canada Customs will give you a hard time for not having a passport on you, and followed by secondary search just because.



We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!


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## NL_engineer (14 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!



That sounds like my luck with customs.  I love it when they say "Welcome to Canada, is your visit business or pleasure" when traveling in uniform.  Enter the US in uniform and they take hour card, thank you for your service and send you on your way.


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## George Wallace (14 Dec 2015)

NL_engineer said:
			
		

> That sounds like my luck with customs.  I love it when they say "Welcome to Canada, is your visit business or pleasure" when traveling in uniform.  Enter the US in uniform and they take hour card, thank you for your service and send you on your way.



Been there.  Done that.  And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.


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## Jarnhamar (14 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!



In all my travels I've ever only been treated like shit by Canadian customs, including while in uniform.


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## Journeyman (14 Dec 2015)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.


 :facepalm:

[Still on my first coffee, and not ready for the latest racism....unless of course, you actually checked his citizenship]


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## George Wallace (14 Dec 2015)

Journeyman said:
			
		

> :facepalm:
> 
> [Still on my first coffee, and not ready for the latest racism....unless of course, you actually checked his citizenship]



Sorry.  It was the thick accent asking me if I was "here on business or pleasure" that made the whole experience memorable.  Comical in a sad way.


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## NL_engineer (14 Dec 2015)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Been there.  Done that.  And it was a Pakistani CBSA Agent who welcomed me thus.



They are normally the ones who say "welcome to my country" in a thick accent.   I alwayse find them the best as they know our uniform and say thank you.


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## Old Sweat (14 Dec 2015)

On the other side of the coin, because of the actions of more than a few individuals the army had a bad reputation for smuggling booze and smokes. Probably the most egregious, or at least the one I heard of involved 3 RCR, in 1973 Customs at Trenton opened a crate labelled "Platoon Stores" when clearing a chalk returning from an AMF(L) exercise in Norway. Instead of military kit the crate was full of illicit booze. 

Side issue - the guys in the AMF(L) Battery developed a large dislike for the battalion because of the incident. You see, they had been told that because of an administrative glitch, there was no duty free alcohol available for them. It didn't take much to connect the dots.


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## George Wallace (14 Dec 2015)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> On the other side of the coin, because of the actions of more than a few individuals the army had a bad reputation for smuggling booze and smokes. Probably the most egregious, or at least the one I heard of involved 3 RCR, in 1973 Customs at Trenton opened a crate labelled "Platoon Stores" when clearing a chalk returning from an AMF(L) exercise in Norway. Instead of military kit the crate was full of illicit booze.
> 
> Side issue - the guys in the AMF(L) Battery developed a large dislike for the battalion because of the incident. You see, they had been told that because of an administrative glitch, there was no duty free alcohol available for them. It didn't take much to connect the dots.



A well known practice carried out by many military members who were serving OUTCAN for any period of time.  I remember hearing of an Argus returning from a Caribbean deployment doing 'Touch and Goes' at Summerside until they had dumped all their Rum into the bay as they had been forewarned that Canada Customs was awaiting their arrival.


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## Eye In The Sky (14 Dec 2015)

There is an urban legend about a motorcycle under a tarp in an Argus once that the skipper may/may not have known about.   :subbies:


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## Oldgateboatdriver (14 Dec 2015)

More urban legends - from the Navy side this time:

Apparently, when HMCS BONAVENTURE went into its long refit in the mid-60's, the yard workers were trying to figure out some of the plans. On one of the decks, the plans showed two compartments (one of which was a Petty Officer's mess decks) side by side, but no matter how often they measured and re-measured, they were four feet short. That is until one of the mates noticed a bolted cover (one of those covers on ships that is bolted all around its perimeter) in the P.O.s mess which did not have a corresponding appearance in the adjoining mess deck. Upon examination, it was found that all the bolts but two were in fact false ones welded over and the two remaining were easy to unscrew by hand, giving access to a four foot by compartment width and height cofferdam that did not appear on any ship's plan  ;D. Guess where foreign acquired goods found themselves when coming back to Canada and until customs were cleared  :nod:.

On the disaster side of Canadian customs, however, Vancouver customs officers take the cake: I have never been able to come back to Canada through Vancouver without one problem or another. The most amazing one: in the early 80's, a friend of mine and I were coming back from a week-end in San Fransisco through Vancouver. My friend was one of those serious amateur photographer, and so, he had Haselbald cameras and lenses in their cases worth thousands of dollars hanging from his neck as we cleared custom one behind the other. He was just waved through after his declaration. Then it was my turn. I was asked to open my carry on luggage. One of the item in it was a 126 mm. worn out plastic camera (the very cheap ones, worth about $20.00) even marked "Direct Film (a Canadian company): I was asked if I could prove I had the Camera before I left !!!!!! I had to beg for them to not seize it , and they let me go with a serious warning to have it carded before I left Canada the next time.


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## Blackadder1916 (14 Dec 2015)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> On the other side of the coin, because of the actions of more than a few individuals the army had a bad reputation for smuggling booze and smokes.  . . .



And not only smuggling booze.  Coming back from Ismailia in 1979, we overnighted in Lahr and had to clear customs there, normally a very easy operation.  Very early in the line was a soldier also repatting from Egypt.  When the customs officer asked him if he had anything to declare, he replied "no".  The customs agent asked again and he replied again, "no".  The question was put to him a third time and this time he was asked specifically if he had purchased anything during his six months away - gold, jewellery, leather goods, liquor, cigarettes,  souvenirs . . .- again he replied "no".  It seemed as if the agent was giving him an opportunity to declare any of the normal items that we brought back from tour and thus avoid slowing down the processing to conduct a search.  The agent then asked him to open his leather luggage (very obviously locally made in Egypt) and then it didn't take much searching to start finding jewellery, liquor, cigarettes . . . and the piece de resistance . . . a small brick of hashish.  The idiot was led away.  The rest of us who were wearing blue berets (including the ones who had already past through customs) were subjected to a more intense screening, including a search of all luggage.


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## ueo (14 Dec 2015)

And the one about a very senior officers brand new top end Mercedes being jettisoned mid Atlantic due to an unforeseen mechanical problem. That and the fact that nobody really liked or respected him.


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## George Wallace (14 Dec 2015)

ueo said:
			
		

> And the one about a very senior officers brand new top end Mercedes being jettisoned mid Atlantic due to an unforeseen mechanical problem. That and the fact that nobody really liked or respected him.



Heard that story told differently.  Someone managed to talk a Herc crew in transporting his Trans Am across the Atlantic to Lahr, avoiding shipping costs and timelines.  Herc developed mechanical problems and crew jettisoned it, taking photos of it falling.  They handed the guy the film when they landed, after he asked where his car was.  Wonder if his insurance policy covered it?

Now to determine if any of those similar stories are true.


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## Blackadder1916 (14 Dec 2015)

ueo said:
			
		

> And the one about a very senior officers brand new top end Mercedes being jettisoned mid Atlantic due to an unforeseen mechanical problem. That and the fact that nobody really liked or respected him.



Well, this is how his fellow ring knockers describe the outcome.
http://www.rmcclub.ca/eVeritas/2005/Issue012/200512King.htm


> In 1989-90, while experiencing significant turmoil in both his professional and personal life he opted for early retirement and started his own company . . .


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## OldSolduer (14 Dec 2015)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> We get treated the worst by our own.  Heck, I get treated better by the US people going thru Holten than I do coming back the other way!!



I had a great conversation in 2012 with CBSA folks if Vancouver in the Starbucks line. It turns out that one of the girls brother served with Mike in 2008. It's a small world.


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## AmmoTech90 (14 Dec 2015)

In the last sixteen months, I've got around a dozen re-entries to Canada through Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, with a similar rate over the last five years.  I have never had a problem with CBSA when travelling on either my official or blue passport.

I do see people have trouble at immigration, the problem hasn't ever started with the CBSA agent.   :


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## SupersonicMax (14 Dec 2015)

I think we all have our horror stories with CBSA...  Like most, I never had issues with any other countries' customs officers.  After bringing a CF-18 back from Operation Mobile in 2011 at the end of my tour, I given the full meal deal search from CBSA (it was at a military base).  I only had 2 bottles of wine to declare but they insisted on opening all my bags and search them.  I had fun watching them open and search a bag full of dirty gitch.

Funny story.  A friend of mine brought a CF-18 back from an exercise in the USA.  He cleared customs at a civilian airport.  He was asked :  Did you bring any good you didn't have before you left.  He said "Yes, this F-18"  The CBSA asked him how much it was worth.  $50M my friend declared.  He received a letter in the mail a couple of weeks later saying he had to pay taxes and duties on the $50M CF-18 he had brought back from the USA.  Obviously he didn't have to!  But it was a funny letter to read nonetheless!

Having said that, when I travel to international airports (in civilian attire with blue or green passport), I never have any issues.


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## George Wallace (14 Dec 2015)

AmmoTech90 said:
			
		

> In the last sixteen months, I've got around a dozen re-entries to Canada through Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, with a similar rate over the last five years.  I have never had a problem with CBSA when travelling on either my official or blue passport.
> 
> I do see people have trouble at immigration, the problem hasn't ever started with the CBSA agent.   :



Usually the "guilty parties" look too "guilty" not to be more thoroughly questioned/searched.   [


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## Pusser (15 Dec 2015)

I was on a UN mission in Haiti one summer and made several trips (in uniform) back and forth between Ottawa and Port au Prince, always clearing Customs in Montreal.  Haiti has a particularly good rum distillery (Barbancourt) and I always made a point of bringing some back with me.  On one occasion, I was asked by the Customs officer if I had anything to declare, and I responded that I had an extra bottle of rum.  He waived me through without charging me and told me I could have brought a whole a case and he wouldn't have cared. I should have gotten his name...


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## medicineman (15 Dec 2015)

I haven't had issues with CBSA coming back off of a mission...Agriculture Canada on the other hand was the issue when I got back from Haiti in 2004.  Dude had a footwear fetish that held most of us up by a long time.  

MM


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## Pusser (15 Dec 2015)

medicineman said:
			
		

> I haven't had issues with CBSA coming back off of a mission...Agriculture Canada on the other hand was the issue when I got back from Haiti in 2004.  Dude had a footwear fetish that held most of us up by a long time.
> 
> MM



We had a similar issue coming home from Bosnia in 2003.  We all had to march through the pink liquid.


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## George Wallace (15 Dec 2015)

Pusser said:
			
		

> We had a similar issue coming home from Bosnia in 2003.  We all had to march through the pink liquid.



Meanwhile, you had a pair or two of other boots packed in your kit that were not put through the pink liquid.


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## Colin Parkinson (15 Dec 2015)

My favorite was crossing the US border on the way to Yakima with gun tractor and 105mm C2. Border guard asked "purpose of visit" I said "Invasion" he got all pissy, then his manager showed up, heard what happened, laughed, let me go and then scowled at the guard. 

The guy who does the Chieftain video's for WOT I believe posted pictures of US soldiers having to put their M4's though the x-ray machine while going through security to board an aircraft. Having met many TSA types I am not surprised.


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## Gramps (5 Jan 2016)

Here are a few things I have seen personally while on the road that had to be confiscated from passengers:
Switchblade and Butterfly knives - Prohibited by law in Canada
Alcoholic beverages at 90% alcohol content - Dangerous Goods according to all publications (TDG, IATA, ICAO etc.)
Fragmentation Grenades - Not forgotten in a tac vest, these were hidden in checked baggage as a souvenir and the person would have had a wonderful visit to a local Arabian Desert jail had he gotten past us.
Brass Knuckles - Prohibited by law in Canada.
So, other than FEDERAL regulations and the fact you may (or may not) pass though a commercial airport on your way somewhere, certain things may be taken at security screening for your protection as well.

Things I have seen that crated issues with CBSA:
Weapon components, explosives etc.- Self explanatory.
Various "supplements and narcotics" - Also self explanatory.
Motorcycles - Yes these were in crates and yes there was no proper documentation for them, CBSA was not pleased and rightly so.
A triwall of duty free alcohol shipped as cargo - A number of laws broken with this one but the people who shipped it were smart enough to write their names on each bottle which made it really easy for CBSA to track them down.

There are many other things I have seen over the years, some of which I will not post on a public site. I have personally witnessed or been the one to discover/confiscate each of the things listed above. Just because you wear a uniform does not mean you are above federal regulations and established safety standards.


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## Colin Parkinson (5 Jan 2016)

I wish CBSA would actually read the definition of a "replica" firearm before confiscating items based on that. Also I seen the e-mails in a FOI request where they seized a whole whack of rifles my friend legally imported and had organized a media dog and pony show, when someone decided to check to see if there were permits, when they discovered he had all his permits, they had to cancel the media event about hour before it started. That did not help my already tainted view of them.


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## captloadie (5 Jan 2016)

Wrt the replica firearms, I remember from my time on deployment that the regulations were fairly strict in some respects. The weapon had to be made inoperable by a licensed, commercial gunsmith and provide a certificate I believe. Abdul from booth 27 wasn't deemed to have the required quals, and I think the CoC also ixnayed the gun plumbers from doing it on the side (because they couldn't provide the certificate).

For your friend who imported the weapons, was this entirely on the civilian side (meaning he didn't ship them in UAB or bring them back on a service flight)?


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## Colin Parkinson (5 Jan 2016)

captloadie said:
			
		

> Wrt the replica firearms, I remember from my time on deployment that the regulations were fairly strict in some respects. The weapon had to be made inoperable by a licensed, commercial gunsmith and provide a certificate I believe. Abdul from booth 27 wasn't deemed to have the required quals, and I think the CoC also ixnayed the gun plumbers from doing it on the side (because they couldn't provide the certificate).
> 
> For your friend who imported the weapons, was this entirely on the civilian side (meaning he didn't ship them in UAB or bring them back on a service flight)?



A deactivated firearm is different than a replica. One of the key elements for differences between a replica and Airsoft gun, is a replica is one that can not shoot any sort of projectile.


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## shootemup604 (13 Jan 2016)

It isn't so much CBSA, but the idiots with CATSA.  For whatever reason at some time I was flying domestically in (army) DEU.  The CATSA contracted security guard asks me "what uniform is that anyways" and them proceeds to have me take off my oxfords because he has to check them for metal?  At the time I also had 200 brass unit coins in my case they didn't even notice when it when through the xray - loaded into a sock, I could have taken over the Westjet flight...


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## Colin Parkinson (27 Jan 2016)

captloadie said:
			
		

> Wrt the replica firearms, I remember from my time on deployment that the regulations were fairly strict in some respects. The weapon had to be made inoperable by a licensed, commercial gunsmith and provide a certificate I believe. Abdul from booth 27 wasn't deemed to have the required quals, and I think the CoC also ixnayed the gun plumbers from doing it on the side (because they couldn't provide the certificate).
> 
> For your friend who imported the weapons, was this entirely on the civilian side (meaning he didn't ship them in UAB or bring them back on a service flight)?



No he is a full licensed firearms dealer and importer brought in by ship.


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