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FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona ~ 10 DEC 2019
Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World!! | The Canteen Crew

Posted on 12/09/2019 5:59:50 PM PST by laurenmarlowe

 
 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona

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Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base 5 miles south-southeast of downtown Tucson, Arizona. It was established in 1925 as Davis-Monthan Landing Field. The host unit for Davis–Monthan AFB is the 355th Wing (355 WG) assigned to Twelfth Air Force (12AF), part of Air Combat Command (ACC).

The base is best known as the location of the Air Force Materiel Command's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), the aircraft boneyard for all excess military and U.S. government aircraft and aerospace vehicles.

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Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a key ACC installation. The 355th Wing (355 WG) provides A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support and OA-10 forward air controllers to ground forces worldwide.

The 355 FW is also the host unit, providing medical, logistical, mission and operational support to all assigned units. The 355 FW is also the sole formal training unit for the A-10 aircraft, providing initial and recurrent training to all U.S. Air Force A-10 and OA-10 pilots, to include those in the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the Air National Guard (ANG).

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One of the wing's tenant units, the 55th Electronic Combat Group (55 ECG), is a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 55th Wing (55 WG) at Offutt AFB, Nebraska and is an ACC unit tasked to provide offensive counter-information and electronic attack capabilities in support of U.S. and Coalition tactical air, surface, and special operations forces with its Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call aircraft and employing the EC-130H in tactical air operations in war and other contingencies worldwide.

The 55 ECG also provides initial and recurrent training to all EC-130H Compass Call pilots, navigators and air crew.

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 As the main location for the 309 AMARG, Davis–Monthan AFB is the sole aircraft boneyard for excess military and U.S. government aircraft and other aerospace vehicles such as ballistic missiles. Tucson's dry climate and alkali soil made it an ideal location for aircraft storage and preservation.

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Learn More About Davis-Monthan Air Force Base HERE!!

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FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. 

Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun!

We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity.

We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon.

We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way.

God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

 

 

 



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: canteen; troopsupport
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1 posted on 12/09/2019 5:59:50 PM PST by laurenmarlowe
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To: laurenmarlowe

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list


December 10

Grace at the End

Bible in a Year:

Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. Mark 5:34 Artist Doug Merkey’s masterful sculpture Ruthless Trust features a bronze human figure clinging desperately to a cross made of walnut wood. He writes, “It’s a very simple expression of our constant and appropriate posture for life—total, unfettered intimacy with and dependency upon Christ and the gospel.”

That’s the kind of trust we see expressed in the actions and words of the unnamed woman in Mark 5:25–34. For twelve years her life had been in shambles (v. 25). “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse” (v. 26). But having heard about Jesus, she made her way to Him, touched Him, and was “freed from her suffering” (vv. 27–29).

Have you come to the end of yourself? Have you depleted all your resources? Anxious, hopeless, lost, distressed people need not despair. The Lord Jesus still responds to desperate faith—the kind displayed by this suffering woman and depicted in Merkey’s sculpture. This faith is expressed in the words of hymn writer Charles Wesley: “Father, I stretch my hands to Thee; no other help I know.” Don’t have that kind of faith? Ask God to help you trust Him. Wesley’s hymn concludes with this prayer: “Author of faith, to Thee I lift my weary, longing eyes; O may I now receive that gift! My soul, without it, dies.”

By: Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

When have you desperately clung to Christ? How did God meet your need?

Father, thank You for Your power to rescue me. Help me to trust You to meet all my needs.


2 posted on 12/09/2019 6:00:18 PM PST by The Mayor (I am outraged at your outrage toward the outrage!)
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To: laurenmarlowe

IN


3 posted on 12/09/2019 6:00:29 PM PST by 2111USMC (Aim Small Miss Small)
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To: laurenmarlowe
WOO-HOO, we love the Road Trips and honoring our Military, thanks Lauren!
4 posted on 12/09/2019 6:02:59 PM PST by PROCON (Molon Labe)
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To: The Mayor
Good evening and thank you Mayor!

FIRST!!

5 posted on 12/09/2019 6:06:26 PM PST by laurenmarlowe
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To: 2111USMC
Howdy there 2111USMC!

SECOND!!

6 posted on 12/09/2019 6:08:16 PM PST by laurenmarlowe
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To: PROCON
And a big WOO HOO to you PROCON!

THIRD!!

7 posted on 12/09/2019 6:09:16 PM PST by laurenmarlowe
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To: laurenmarlowe
Good evening, lauren, and thank you for today's Road Trip to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.


8 posted on 12/09/2019 6:14:12 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska ((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
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To: laurenmarlowe

DMAFB was a SAC base when I was la kid growing up in Tucson. I rode on a school bus that picked up kids that lived on base. We had the opportunity to watch B-52s take off and land numerous times.


9 posted on 12/09/2019 6:17:31 PM PST by wjcsux (Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself.)
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To: wjcsux

I only have driven by that one. Never been inside. Orlando’s airport and Austin TX SAC based are both commercial international airports now.


10 posted on 12/09/2019 6:27:17 PM PST by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but ABCNNBCBS donates every hour, every night, every day of the year.)
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To: laurenmarlowe

thank you laurenmarlowe!!


11 posted on 12/09/2019 6:32:45 PM PST by The Mayor (I am outraged at your outrage toward the outrage!)
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To: laurenmarlowe

Great Base, Love A10s in the Desert... Thunder!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=v2AC41dglnM&feature=emb_logo


12 posted on 12/09/2019 7:19:48 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: laurenmarlowe

Great Base, Love A10s in the Desert... Thunder!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=v2AC41dglnM&feature=emb_logo


13 posted on 12/09/2019 7:19:48 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: laurenmarlowe

Thanks for a great roadtrip, lauren! Hope the parade went well.


14 posted on 12/09/2019 7:21:29 PM PST by luvie (The bravery and dedication of our troops in keeping us safe & free make me proud to be an American!)
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To: laurenmarlowe; LUV W; radu; Kathy in Alaska; MEG33; beachn4fun; All
A very pleasant good Tuesday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country and thanks Lauren for this morning's thread.

How's everyone doing this morning?

15 posted on 12/09/2019 10:55:11 PM PST by E.G.C.
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To: laurenmarlowe; LucyT

15 FEARED DEAD IN FIERY CRASH

2 Homes Razed By Falling F4D Near Airbase
Arizona Daily Star, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 1967
By KEN BURTON

Fifteen persons were believed killed last night and at least a dozen injured when a U.S. Air Force F4D jet crashed into the rear of a Food Giant store at the Cactus Shopping Center at E. 29th St., and S. Alvernon Way.

Capt. Ellis Franklin of the Tucson Fire Dept. said at press time this morning that he feared the death toll might reach 15.

Eight of the deaths were confirmed as still more bodies were being removed from the gutted store and homes to the rear of the market.

At least two houses to the rear of the shopping center complex were also destroyed as a fireball of JP-4 aviation fuel engulfed the area, creating a holocaust.

Air Force officers said the two-man crew, Flight Lt. Jack R. Hamilton of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the pilot, and U.S. Capt. Gary L. Hughes, the navigator, were able to parachute from the plane before it crashed.

Tim Oned, of ---- E. 32nd St., was standing on S. Winstel Ave. when the plane hit the ground shortly after 5:30 p.m. "I saw two planes heading north above me," said Oned. "They were flying side-by-side, when two objects shot out of the eastern aircraft . . . I realized later these were parachutes."

Witnesses, including Oned, said the aircraft then turned on its side and descended upside down. Oned said when it hit, "It exploded like a bomb you see on television."

Another witness, 15-year-old Roswell Burk, of ---- S. Baxter Pl., said he was just blocks away from the supermarket when he saw the jet approaching.

"When the plane came over, it tipped a little and it looked like a wing caught on one wall — and it just blew up," Burk said, explaining how the craft slammed into an alley directly behind the store.

The plane was loaded with more than 16,000 pounds of volatile JP-4 aviation fuel, which it had taken on prior to leaving Davis-Monthan AFB. The plane was based at Nellis AFB, Nev.

The fuel exploded across houses and ripped a fiery path through the grocery store, which was dotted with holiday shoppers and employees.

Ernest Sanchez, a Tucson Gas & Electric Co. employee who was driving by the store when the crash occurred, stopped his car and ran inside to help men, women and children escape. Reports indicated that between 20 and 30 persons escaped before the fire completely engulfed the store's inside. Aby Mogy, a self-employed truck driver who runs Mogy's Towing Service, was helping a stranded motorist some 300 yards from the supermarket when he saw the plane fall. Mogy said he heard "a thud," saw "not more than 20 people" run out, and immediately got on his two-way radio in his wrecker and called for the fire department. He was credited with the first alarm.

More than 85 city firemen — 50 regulars, plus 35 off-duty men called back to work — responded to the three separate alarms that sent a total of 10 pieces of fire and rescue equipment to the tragedy.

Firefighting teams also rushed to the blaze from David-Monthan and Air National Guard headquarters. D-M also sent several ambulances and teams of medics.

Some 100 city policemen and other officers from South Tucson, the Arizona Highway Patrol, the Pima County Sheriff's Office, plus Civil Defense teams, the Sheriff's Search & Rescue Unit and the Red Cross—all rushed to the crash site.

"We've got every law enforcement and rescue agency in the city and county out here fighting this thing," said one city patrolman. "I don't think we've missed anyone."

Residents in the block behind the market said it looked as though four houses were hit by the initial fireball. J. A. Eribe, ---- S. Winstel Blvd., lives directly across from one home that was hit. He said he heard "a loud roar, and a terrific explosion." Before his family reached their windows, Eribe said they could see the fire racing in behind them.

Outside, Eribe recalled, a man came running from his own home screaming, "My baby! My baby! She's still in there!" The home was believed occupied by the James Tilton family, at ---- S. Winstel. Two bodies were recovered from that residence early last night. One of the dead was identified as Sherri Tilton, 19, trapped in her bedroom.

Eribe later told a reporter: "I'm getting the hell out of here and moving. I'm not going to live here any longer." Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Sanchez said he saw "at least" six people inside the store, adding: "Those people didn't have a chance." Sanchez dragged a hysterical mother from the store as she started to go back for her child. The spot where her child had stood was a searing fireball.

"It was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life." Sanchez said. "One minute they were picking greens. The next minute , they just weren't there."

Tucson's hospitals went on alert last night, but it was not necessary to put their disaster plans into full effect, chiefly because there were relatively few injured.

Physicians and off-duty nurses reported in great numbers to St. Mary's, St. Joseph's and Tucson Medical Center emergency rooms as soon as they heard of the tragedy.

The hospitals were prepared to treat any number of victims, and had opened their disaster supplies of bedding, plasma, and burn remedies in preparation for patients from the accident.

At press time, all the injured treated at local hospitals had gone to the emergency rooms with members of their families, not by ambulance.

Firemen and city workers, under the direction of Tom Price, superintendent of the Sanitation Dept., loaded debris into five pickup and six dump trucks last night. Captain Franklin estimated that the men may not finish their mop-up operation until noon today.

Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Dirks, in charge of the giant fire and recovery operation, said the blaze "could wind up being one of the worst tragedies in Tucson history."

First reports concerning the number of people trapped inside houses to the rear of the store and in the store itself were confused. Dazed witnesses who had fled the supermarket could only mumble when asked how many failed to make the doors. Admitted for shock at St. Joseph's Hospital last night was Mrs. Rayalda Chavez, 40, --- Calle Colado, a Food Giant cashier who was not otherwise injured.

Mrs. Victoria Steffania Palmer, 55, a clerk at Food Giant who had reported for work only five minutes before the crash, was identified by her husband, James, late last night at Bring's Mortuary. She lived at ---- Monthan Strav. and is survived by a son and two daughters.


Wreckage of a U.S. Air Force F4D that crashed is framed by a patio wall at a home to the rear of the supermarket. Bright flames shooting abofe the wall to the left is burning gas from a ruptured gas line and flame in foreground is blazing jet fuel. Fifteen persons are believed to have perished.


Helped by firemen, Bill Sharp, President of the Food Giant chain, walks through the ruins of his store at 1830 S. Alvernon Way. Sharp, who helped found the chain in 1956, spent most of the night at the scene of the plane crash.

Home Area Crash 1st For Tucson

Previous Mishaps Occurred In Desert

Last night's tragic crash of an Air Force Phantom II jet fighter at a Tucson shopping center was the first involving a local residential area in the 26-year history of Davis-Monthan AFB. Records show only four scattered incidents involving private property and the malfunctioning of Air Force planes. One death resulted.

In December, 1941, a four-engined American bomber plunged into a home at ---- E. Elida St.; but neither the 19 crewmen aboard the plane nor the four occupants of the home were seriously injured. In January, 1944, a B24 bomber sheered off the roof of a home at ---- S. Alvernon Way—then crashed on the field killing two aboard the plane and injuring five others. There was no one inside the damaged house.

Then, in December, 1959, a 32-year-old housewife died when the wing tank of a B47 Stratojet fell. The woman was killed as the tank struck her and burst into flame. That accident took place in the 2700 block of S. Alvernon Way. During the years from 1941 to 1947 more than 15 D-M-based bombers crashed, killing countless crewmen; but all crashed over the desert.

The 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing, the F4C training wing of the Tactical Air Command at D-M, has been located there since 1964. Though there have been several F4C crashes of D-M training planes, all have taken place over the desert. The last F4C crash occurred Nov. 7 of this year in a ranch field near Douglas. The plane's systems operator — or rear seat pilot — was found still strapped in the wreckage. The flight commander — or front seat pilot — escaped with injuries.

But the 4453rd is credited with the lowest accident rate per 100,000 flying hours of all 17 units of the 12th Air Force of which it is a part.

The 4453rd maintains 50 F4Cs with 1,200 men — about a third of that number are training pilots undergoing courses of from four to eight weeks preparatory to Vietnam assignment. In addition, the 4453rd serves as a refueling stop for other training bases such as Nellis, AFB, Nev., home station of the plane that crashed last night.

Last night's fatal crash was an F4D, a modified cousin of the F4C.

The McDonnell F4 is used by the Air Force, Navy and Marines in Vietnam. The craft is capable of speeds of up to 1,400 m.p.h. and bomb loads exceeding six tons. It is capable of performing strike, reconnaissance, escort and high cover missions. It is 58 feet long. It is capable of carrying 5,900 gallons of fuel.

The field at D-M handles some 170,000 take-offs and landings per year. Col. Robert Ackerly, 4453rd commander, has estimated that approximately 85 to 96 F4Cs take off and land at D-M each day. D-M is called upon to manage an average two emergency landings per day.

F4s usually travel in flights of three. Such was last night's takeoff. The member planes of a flight leave the D-M runway separately and "catch-up" roughly over Tanque Verde Rd.

D-M commanders have spoken of repeated efforts made to re-route the jets away from the Tucson residential district. But under weather conditions such as yesterday, regular patterns are altered and pilots controlled by the Federal Aviation Agency through D-M tower.


16 posted on 12/10/2019 12:06:36 AM PST by Brown Deer (America First!)
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Toll In Air Tragedy Confirmed At Four

Arizona Daily Star, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 1967
By KEN BURTON

Weary, mud-stained firemen left the Cactus Shopping Center yesterday, convinced that no more than four persons died in Monday's tragic holocaust.

Authorities said that the high death toll estimates of 15 persons made late Monday night was caused by difficulty in removing the dead and a conflict in reports.

Investigators said their estimate of the damages totaled $202,050 — excluding the $2 million-plus pricetag of the U.S. Air Force F4D jet fighter that caused the fire. The fire department's estimate included a $200,000 loss to Food Giant No. 10, which was demolished, plus a $77,000 loss to the store's inventory.

Also added to the tally were the homes of Sgt. Paul Porto, at ---- S. Winstel Blvd., and James Tilton, ---- S. Winstel. Both houses were destroyed and damage was set at $10,000 each, plus $2,500 for each home's contents. Another $1,050 was listed as damage to the Gun Slot, a hobby store, the Rasco variety store and a home at ---- S. Winstel. The Gun Slot and Resco were on either side of the Food Giant.

Davis-Monthan's legal office yesterday began round-the-clock operations to process claims arising from the crash and had set up an emergency advance system for hardship cases. Capt. Ellis Franklin, unshaven and drawn after staying at the crash site for more than 20 straight hours, said he had based his casualty estimate on reports from witnesses. The Dead were identified as Sherry Tilton, 19, of ---- Winstel Blvd., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Tilton; Mrs. Robin Bush, 34, of --- E. Bromley St., wife of Glenn Bush; Mrs. Victoria Steffania Palmer, 55, of ---- Monthan Strav., wife of James Oliver Palmer; and Mrs. Crystal Siemund of Empirita Ranch near Benson, wife of Raymond Siemund. The fire erupted when a U.S. Air Force F4D jet fighter, loaded with more than 16,000 pounds of JP-4 aviation gasoline, crashed after takeoff from Davis-Monthan AFB. The plane, originally stationed at Nellis AFB, Nev., ripped into the rear of the Food Giant store and sent fireballs into the grocery and the nearby homes.

Firemen said the exact time of the crash was fixed at 5:44 p.m., by an electric clock, stopped at a Burger Chef stand not far from the mishap.

Besides gutting a store and two homes, the plane severed two natural gas lines and set the escaping fumes afire and also sheared an eight-inch water main. The water loss caused some drop in pressure, firemen said.

Some 120 off-duty firemen reported in after three alarms had been sounded, and 60 were shuttled to the shopping center to bolster the department's strength. Davis-Monthan also sent in men and equipment.

Franklin said his department had granted permission late yesterday to restore electricity to the six remaining businesses in the Center. They expect to re-open soon. Some confusion resulted when persons thought to have been shopping in the Food Giant later reached home safely, but didn't notify authorities — not knowing they had been reported missing.

Franklin praised Civil Defense volunteers and Air Force firemen, who worked hand-in-hand with city firemen in the long mopping-up operation.




Dotted line indicates a probable flight path of the F4D jet off the main runway at Davis-Monthan AFB to the point where it crashed at the Cactus Shopping Center on South Alvernon way.


An engine from a shattered F4D jet fighter-bomber and other debris wound up in this play yard last night after the jet crashed on takeoff from Davis-Monthan AFB



17 posted on 12/10/2019 12:16:34 AM PST by Brown Deer (America First!)
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The commander of F4D jets at Nellis AFB speculated yesterday that the pilot of Monday night's ill-fated plane was attempting to head it toward Randolph Park.

Brig. Gen. Ralph Taylor who arrived here Monday night, said it was his opinion that command pilot Canadian Flt. Lt. Jack R. Hamilton, Perth, Ontario, and his trainee navigator, Capt. Gary L. Hughes, 32, Mt. Shasta, Calif., waited until the last second before bailing out.

Ejection is only safe at altitudes of 200 feet and above, Taylor explained, and their chutes barely opened before they touched down. One of the plane's crew apparently landed just behind the airbase security fence and the second in the backyard of a nearby residence.

Both men were taken to the D-M Hospital, questioned for awhile, then put under sedation. Taylor said the two men received minor injuries and remained under sedation until about noon yesterday. Witnesses said the plane apparently was without lights or engine power when it fell behind the Food Giant Super Market, 1830 S. Alvernon Way.

Taylor said the plane gave no indication of malfunction either before or during takeoff — nor during the plane's trip from Nellis, near Las Vegas, to D-M Monday morning. The general said that Hamilton, an exchange instructor pilot with 3,500 hours experience, brought Hughes to Tucson for experience in D-M's F4 flight simulator.


18 posted on 12/10/2019 12:27:14 AM PST by Brown Deer (America First!)
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To: laurenmarlowe; Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; HiJinx; AZamericonnie; Jet Jaguar; beachn4fun; SandRat; ...

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!


19 posted on 12/10/2019 12:34:51 AM PST by radu (God bless our military men and women, past and present)
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To: E.G.C.

Howdy, E.G.C. ((HUGZ))

Were you able to head out to the lake or was the weather too foul? I imagine your temps are dropping like a stone by now.

Dreary but quite balmy here all day. Now the rain is moving in and we’ll have snow falling in the afternoon. EEK!


20 posted on 12/10/2019 12:40:32 AM PST by radu (God bless our military men and women, past and present)
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