New year, new MREs (country captain's chicken is history) - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - New year, new MREs (country captain's chicken is history) (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 1/4/2006 2:16:35 PM EST

www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/ABCB5CC1D6CC03A8852570EC0000EDAB?opendocument

U.S. MARINE CORPS FORCES, PACIFIC, CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii (01-03-2006) -- If you are tired of trying to make Meal-Ready-to-Eat menus more palatable, then your search may be over.

The field rations have progressed a long way from the C-rats of the past, and they continue to change even to this day.

Four of the current 24 MREs have been removed and are being replaced by new and improved menus, according to the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, located in Natick, Mass.
Usually the ASSC only replaces two MREs a year, but this year they wanted to give the list a boost in variety.

“There was a lot of negative feedback on these four MREs, we couldn’t narrow it down to just two,” said Judith Aylward, the MRE Improvement project manager.

Country Captain’s Chicken, Thai Chicken, Beef Teriyaki and Pasta with Vegetables have all been scratched off the MRE menu.

The ASSC has come up with four new main meals and an assortment of new sides and candies approved by servicemembers by suggestion or taste tests.

“If there were four MRE boxes with one MRE left in each, all of them would be Country Captain’s Chicken,” said Sgt. Rusty Campbell, who while deployed in Afghanistan, had eaten MREs for 35 or more days straight. “If you got stuck with one, you just took everyone else’s Tabasco sauce and made the best of it.”

The four new meals include a penne pasta dish, chicken fajitas with soft tortillas, Sloppy Joe sauce to put on wheat snack bread and a cheese omelet breakfast meal.

The new meals were put on trial to ensure quality.

“All of our meals are put through field tests, which allows us to see how well the new meals fare against the current menus,” said Aylward.

The Operational Forces Interface Group is a team that takes surveys from Marine and Army installations throughout the nation. These surveys are used to get an accurate look at what the servicemembers enjoy, and what they just throw back in the box.

“Troop preference is the biggest consideration. We can make the meal fit every regulation, but if you don’t like it you’re not going to eat it,” said Aylward.

The new meals did well in recent taste tests with chicken fajitas being the favorite.

“I might be a little cautious about eating chicken fajitas from an MRE, but the idea does sound fairly appetizing,” said Sgt. Wayne R. Welty, a security specialist at Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.

Main meals are not the only thing needed to make an MRE the gourmet meals they are; sometimes little treats can make an unpopular meal great.

Snacks like the cinnamon scone and the orange carbohydrate drink, which has a strong resemblance to Gatorade, both scored high in the taste test. However, one item surpassed them all; Walnettos, a caramel and walnut flavored candy.

“The Walnettos went over surprisingly well, so we have started to work on a similar chocolate flavored candy,” said Alyward. “We have also been looking at adding more commercial items such as M&M’s, which are big moral boosters.”

Coming up with new menu ideas is a rather large challenge. Nutritionists like Alyward have to meet all sorts of standards.

These standards include nutritional value, weight & volume, and variety. There are even certain stipulations that require MREs to be made with only American-made products.

“There are so many factors to juggle, but the by far the most influential one is whether or not you like them,” said Alyward.

There shouldn’t be too much to worry about if you don’t like the taste of some of the items. Chances are if a lot of people share your opinion, the item will be gone by next year.

According to Alyward, the items for 2006 and 2007 have already been selected and the list for 2008 will be approved sometime in Feb. 2006.

“In the end, we may complain about it but we will still eat it,” said Campbell. “Its just a bonus if it tastes edible.”

Here is a sneak preview at the items slated for 2006 and 2007.

2006 What’s in:
· HooAH! Bar
· Chili with beef
· Tuna fish
· Mango peach apple sauce
· Raisin nut mix with pan coated chocolate discs
· Caramel apple bar
· Chocolate banana muffin top
· Pizza cheese spread
· Chocolate peanut butter spread

What’s out:
· Beefsteak with mushroom gravy
· Chicken tetrazzini

2007, What’s in:
· Meatball with marinara sauce
· Chicken with dumplings
· Cornbread stuffing
· Wild berry and tropical Skittles
· Marbled pound cake
· Apple butter
· Chunky peanut butter

What’s out:
· Jambalaya
· Cajun rice with sausage

Posted: 1/4/2006 2:20:35 PM EST

[#1]

they really need to get away from all that fancy sauce crap. it ALWAYS smells like shit and tastes about the same.

country captain chicken used to make me want to hurl.

Posted: 1/4/2006 2:57:14 PM EST

[#2]

doesn't everyone just use tobasco anyway?

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:04:46 PM EST

[#3]

Quoted:
doesn't everyone just use tobasco anyway?

Tabasco tastes like fermented shit; Chalula's hot sauce is frickin' awesome.

It's been ten years since I've had an MRE and I'm curious to try the discontinued ones before they're all dried up. Anybody feel like sending me a free MRE or two they don't like or are near expiration so I can try them out?

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:09:35 PM EST

[#4]

Country Captain’s Chicken, Thai Chicken, Beef Teriyaki and Pasta with Vegetables have all been scratched off the MRE menu.

Music to my ears.

What the hell were they thinking when they cooked that vile recipe up.

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:11:24 PM EST

[#5]

Country Captain Chicken was good right after it came out. It was a spicy little curry surprise, but didn't take long to get really, really old.

I'm surprised they're bring back another evolution of the MRE omelette. The idea of being stuck with #4 (I think) "Omelette w/Ham" still turns my stomach.

[

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:12:00 PM EST

[#6]

As long as they can cram it all into one bag, it'll be GTG. Having to open a couple of packages in order to complete one meal is ignorant.

Open the fajitas
open the tortillas
open the sauce

Then your patrol base gets mortared & you have to haul ass. Goodbye food.

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:19:13 PM EST

[#7]

Do they still have the four fingers of death?

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:35:16 PM EST

[#8]

Quoted:
Do they still have the four fingers of death?

No.

I don't get why they keep introducing exotic shit that doesn't even taste decent.

I never have understood it. They can put a man on the fucking moon but they can't pack a meal that doesn't taste like Elmer's Glue with a disgusting sauce.

Thai chicken. Of all the meals in the world, they pick the one that is least likely to have ever been taste by the average American soldier.

Country Captain Chicken. I never even heard of that before.

For God's sake, vacuum seal something that people in America eat on a regular basis.

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:35:50 PM EST

[#9]

mmmmm I love that wheat bread snack with jalapaneo sauce over it!

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:44:50 PM EST

[#10]

This article is pretty out-dated cuz those new mre's came out like 2 months ago. So far I like the fajita the best (maybe out of all of them), omelet is just ok, sloppy joe is too sloppy and gets everywhere and tastes just ok, and I like all the pasta meals.

I'm happy to see country captain go. Nasty suff. They also added new plastic bags to mix up the beverage powders. Way useful.

All mres still suck imo though.

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:46:10 PM EST

[#11]

thank god, possibly the worst mre ever, even worse than omlette with ham, and im allergic to eggs.

to bad about the cajun rice sausage though, that was pretty damn good heated up with hot cheese spread in it.

i miss the beef franks though, they were good as a snack.

as long as they don't fuck with beef ravioli i will remain a happy camper, when they pull that one it will be my sign to stop reupping.

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:48:41 PM EST

[#12]

i like this thread. ITS NICE!

Posted: 1/4/2006 3:50:11 PM EST

[#13]

I didn't think Pasta with Vegetables was all that bad but oh well, whatever.
~Dg84

Posted: 1/4/2006 4:00:10 PM EST

[#14]

Quoted:
I'm surprised they're bring back another evolution of the MRE omelette. The idea of being stuck with #4 (I think) "Omelette w/Ham" still turns my stomach.

[

HAHAAHA !

The first time that I ever opened one I had been saving it for a couple days and waiting to eat it for breakfast. Another Marine and I were on OP/LP early in the morning and I finally decided to eat my breakfast.

Oh yuck ! Green eggs and ham !!! I alsmost puked when I put it in my mouth. I ended up slinging it out into the boonies.

Many months later I was a little late to the MRE cases and all that was left were 7 Omlette& Hams. I whined, pleaded and cried to my fellow Marine's that this was not fair but they just acted like nobody heard me. I was able to acquire a taste for the damn things by heating them up and adding a little salt, a heated cheese spread and Tobasco sauce. Sometimes if I was real hungry I would add one cracker to the mix.

Hell, after awhile I got to where it was all I wanted to eat. For the remainder of my years in the Corps I would ALWAYS raid the MRE cases early and pick out good meals. I would remove the main entree and maybe a powdered beverage and pack the rest into my ALICE pack. I always had tons of TP =)

I would then search out those Marines unfortunately stuck with Omlette& Ham and trade them a GOOD entree for a complete Omlette& Ham MRE. My trades were hardly ever turned down =)

I wish I had an ol' Omlette&Ham just for good ol' times sake.

LB

Posted: 1/4/2006 4:05:00 PM EST

[#15]

Quoted:

HAHAAHA !

The first time that I ever opened one I had been saving it for a couple days and waiting to eat it for breakfast. Another Marine and I were on OP/LP early in the morning and I finally decided to eat my breakfast.

Oh yuck ! Green eggs and ham !!! I alsmost puked when I put it in my mouth. I ended up slinging it out into the boonies.

Many months later I was a little late to the MRE cases and all that was left were 7 Omlette& Hams. I whined, pleaded and cried to my fellow Marine's that this was not fair but they just acted like nobody heard me. I was able to acquire a taste for the damn things by heating them up and adding a little salt, a heated cheese spread and Tobasco sauce. Sometimes if I was real hungry I would add one cracker to the mix.

Hell, after awhile I got to where it was all I wanted to eat. For the remainder of my years in the Corps I would ALWAYS raid the MRE cases early and pick out good meals. I would remove the main entree and maybe a powdered beverage and pack the rest into my ALICE pack. I always had tons of TP =)

I would then search out those Marines unfortunately stuck with Omlette& Ham and trade them a GOOD entree for a complete Omlette& Ham MRE. My trades were hardly ever turned down =)

I wish I had an ol' Omlette&Ham just for good ol' times sake.

LB

LOL - I'm pretty sure that there's people who spent way too much time in school studying psychology who would be happy to take your money while talking you through your issues.

Posted: 1/4/2006 4:13:54 PM EST

[#16]

I'm really messed up, my favorites were the dehydrated beef an pork patties. If I had time, I'd mix up the broth pack and add it to the baggie to rehydrate, but more often than not, I'd just crunch 'em down.

Posted: 1/4/2006 4:16:25 PM EST

[#17]

How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?

Posted: 1/4/2006 4:21:45 PM EST

[#18]

Quoted:
How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?

Bad enough to skip a meal rather than eat it.

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:14:57 PM EST

[#19]

Quoted:
Quoted:
How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?
Bad enough to skip a meal rather than eat it.

Prove it and unload any unwanted MRE's you've got on me; I'm dying to see if these things are as bad as everyone says. I think you're just a bunch of pansies.

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:17:27 PM EST

[#20]

Beef Teriyaki and Pasta with Vegetables

Fudge i liked those two. Pasta with vegetables was good wtf gives?

Omlet? just great thats way better then the pasta

ETA If they mess with the choco chip brownie im going AWOL.

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:21:11 PM EST

[#21]

My favorite is the Chicken with Salsa.

Country Captain Chicken = fucksnot in a bag. It really does suck, and I would rank it up there with the Chili Mac MRE.

Eat any of the MREs long enough and your sweat and pee will smell like the ever-present acidic tomato-ish sauce that they use as a base for almost every meal.

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:22:08 PM EST

[#22]

Bring back the corned beef hash !

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:28:33 PM EST

[#23]

Guess I'm the only one who liked captain country chicken and jambalaya

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:29:21 PM EST

[#24]

Quoted:
Guess I'm the only one who liked captain country chicken and jambalaya

You are not the only one. I love country captain chicken.

Boneless pork chop is still my favorite though.

Posted: 1/4/2006 6:44:45 PM EST

[#25]

Quoted:
I didn't think Pasta with Vegetables was all that bad but oh well, whatever.
~Dg84

I agree, I liked that one. The veggie meals I could eat and not feel bloated.

Posted: 1/4/2006 11:02:56 PM EST

[#26]

Beef steak chunked and formed was my favorite.

Posted: 1/4/2006 11:10:51 PM EST

[#27]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?
Bad enough to skip a meal rather than eat it.

Prove it and unload any unwanted MRE's you've got on me; I'm dying to see if these things are as bad as everyone says. I think you're just a bunch of pansies.

same I want to try one as well.

Hell ill pay shipping to take it off someoneones hands.

Posted: 1/5/2006 12:02:59 AM EST

[#28]

Damn, those bastards are getting rid of both the cajun meals.

Don't think it'll affect the rest of my tour, though, I think we just finished the '04s last month!

I never had a problem with Country Captain Chicken. They fucked it up last year by taking out the buttered noodles. Country Captain Chicken + Buttered Noodles + Tobasco = good eatin!

Posted: 1/5/2006 12:32:49 AM EST

[#29]

I have limited experience with MRE's .
Mainly because I haven't ever been forced
to survive on them , but the 5-6 I have tried
were pretty nasty .

I understand that Mil-Spec has something to
do with it , but come on . I have eaten other
commercially available freeze dried and vacuum
packed camping/survival food that looked smelled
and tasted 10 times better .

Would it really be so hard to supply decent food
to the troops out there who have no choice but
to eat this stuff ?

Posted: 1/5/2006 12:44:40 AM EST

[#30]

Gee and to think that the last batch of MRE's that I have tried were the 1992-1993 batches.

Look at all that I have missed.

Posted: 1/5/2006 2:23:29 AM EST

[#31]

man, how many threads do we have on mre's? i posted this story yesterday, you guys really need to get out more...ever hear of mcdonalds???

might not be as nutritious as mre's but they're a helluva lot tastier!

Posted: 1/5/2006 3:10:54 AM EST

[#32]

Which is why we are sending our son different hot sauces, and bbq sauces, just to make them taste better.

Posted: 1/5/2006 3:42:03 AM EST

[#33]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?
Bad enough to skip a meal rather than eat it.

Prove it and unload any unwanted MRE's you've got on me; I'm dying to see if these things are as bad as everyone says. I think you're just a bunch of pansies.

It is the single worst MRE there is. Even the new omelette is just a tad better than it.

I wouldnt wish CCC upon my worst enemy to eat for 10years straight.

And why'd get rid of Chicken Tetrazinni?!??!?!????????????????? I absolutely loved that, with cracked crushed up and cheese spread. Holy fuck that was good.

Posted: 1/5/2006 9:52:24 AM EST

[#34]

Chicken and Rice was my favorite. Pork in BBQ sauce wasnt bad either.

Posted: 1/5/2006 10:02:49 AM EST

[#35]

Quoted:
Chicken and Rice was my favorite. Pork in BBQ sauce wasnt bad either.

I have several boxes of pork BBQ...YUM!!

I dont understand all of the griping about MREs. Ive yet to eat one that wasn't VERY good. The only nit I can pick is that the bottle of hot sauce should be 3 or 4 times bigger and ALL MREs MUST come w/ cheese spread.

Oh, I thought the dehydrated beef patties were excellent...sort of a crunchy burger and not messy at all.

Posted: 1/5/2006 10:11:32 AM EST

[#36]

Country Captain Chicken – A curried chicken dish. The chicken is browned and then stewed in a sauce of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and curry powder. At the end, golden raisins are added. The dish is served over rice sprinkled with toasted almonds. As with all chicken recipes in the South, Country Captain Chicken varies with the cook. Some recipes call for a long cooking time and other use quick-cooking chicken breasts. One thing is always certain about this dish; it is perfumed and slightly spiced with curry.

The Hobson Jobson Dictionary
states the following:

COUNTRY-CAPTAIN. This is in Bengal the name of a peculiar dry kind of curry, often served as a breakfast dish. We can only conjecture that it was a favourite dish at the table of the skippers of ‘country ships,’ who were themselves called ‘country captains,’ as in our first quotation. In Madras the term is applied to a spatchcock dressed with onions and curry stuff, which is probably the original form. [Riddell says: “Country-captain.—Cut a fowl in pieces; shred an onion small and fry it brown in butter; sprinkle the fowl with fine salt and curry powder and fry it brown; then put it into a stewpan with a pint of soup; stew it slowly down to a half and serve it with rice” (Ind. Dom. Econ. 176).]

1792.—“But now, Sir, a Country Captain is not to be known from an ordinary man, or a Christian, by any certain mark whatever.”—Madras Courier, April 26.

c. 1825.—“The local name for their business was the ‘Country Trade,’ the ships were ‘Country Ships,’ and the masters of them ‘Country Captains.’ Some of my readers may recall a dish which was often placed before us when dining on board these vessels at Whampoa, viz. ‘Country Captain.’”—The Fankwae at Canton (1882), p. 33.

This delicious dish, known throughout Georgia, dates to the early 1800s. It is thought that this dish was brought to Georgia by a British sea captain who had been stationed in Bengali, India and shared the recipe with some friends in the port city of Savannah, Georgia. Savannah was then a major shipping port for the spice trade. The dish was named for the officers in India called “Country Captains.”

In the 1940s, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States and General George S. Patton (1885-1945), U.S. Army General, were served this dish in Warm Springs, Georgia, by Mrs. W. L. Bullard. Their praise and love of this dish helped to rekindle its Southern classic status. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who first gave national recognition to Warm Springs when, in 1924, he visited the town's naturally heated mineral springs as treatment for his polio related paralysis. Roosevelt was so enchanted with Warm Springs that he built the only home he ever owned here - a modest, six room cottage called the Little White House which served as a relaxing, comfortable haven for him.

Any dish involving "perfumed" aromas will not survive as an MRE entree.

Posted: 1/5/2006 10:49:06 AM EST

[#37]

And why'd get rid of Chicken Tetrazinni?!??!?!????????????????? I absolutely loved that, with cracked crushed up and cheese spread. Holy fuck that was good.

+1

fuckheads

Posted: 1/5/2006 10:51:38 AM EST

[#38]

I dont know I think every Generation has a ration they hate.
I remember my uncle telling me about Ham and Mother fuckers.

Posted: 1/5/2006 10:54:58 AM EST

[#39]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How bad can this Captain Country Chicken taste?
Bad enough to skip a meal rather than eat it.

Prove it and unload any unwanted MRE's you've got on me; I'm dying to see if these things are as bad as everyone says. I think you're just a bunch of pansies.

same I want to try one as well.

Hell ill pay shipping to take it off someoneones hands.

+1

I'll try one just to say I tried one

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:03:24 AM EST

[#40]

Quoted:
My favorite is the Chicken with Salsa.

Country Captain Chicken = fucksnot in a bag. It really does suck, and I would rank it up there with the Chili Mac MRE.

Eat any of the MREs long enough and your sweat and pee will smell like the ever-present acidic tomato-ish sauce that they use as a base for almost every meal.

I liked Country captain chicken.. but then I liked chili mac too.. they're good if you can get them reallyh hot with something other than those little heaters.

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:26:22 AM EST

[#41]

We had first generation MRE's, for us it was the chiken ala puke.

I would have rather had C-rats over that one.

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:33:43 AM EST

[#42]

Quoted:
Which is why we are sending our son different hot sauces, and bbq sauces, just to make them taste better.

Get him a bottle of Chalulas hot sauce. Tabasco disgusts me, but Chalulas is just plain awesome! I guarantee you that he'll thank you for it.

The last time I ate MRE's was a couple years after the first Gulf War and I remember them as being rather delicious. No clue what any of it was, though I think I remember generic M&M candies being one of the deserts.

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:36:43 AM EST

[#43]

Quoted:
Quoted:
doesn't everyone just use tobasco anyway?

Tabasco tastes like fermented shit; Chalula's hot sauce is frickin' awesome.

Yeah, Buddy!!!
Chalula actually has flavor, not just heat.

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:44:21 AM EST

[#44]

Quoted:
Gee and to think that the last batch of MRE's that I have tried were the 1992-1993 batches.

Look at all that I have missed.

I still have two cases of this range in my basement

Probably alive by now.

The worst i can remember is the dehydrated beef patty. A pile of (cold) steaming dog shit buffalo biscut ass flavored fumunder cheese growing butt nugget.

I always got stuck with it.

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:45:13 AM EST

[#45]

dunno how many of you have read this

http://www.soupsandwich.net/chezranger.html

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:47:54 AM EST

[#46]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Which is why we are sending our son different hot sauces, and bbq sauces, just to make them taste better.

Get him a bottle of Chalulas hot sauce. Tabasco disgusts me, but Chalulas is just plain awesome! I guarantee you that he'll thank you for it.

The last time I ate MRE's was a couple years after the first Gulf War and I remember them as being rather delicious. No clue what any of it was, though I think I remember generic M&M candies being one of the deserts.

yep, anybody sending care packages overseas really needs to send some real hot sauce. chalulas is one of my favorites but i sent 2 69cent bottles of louisiana hot sauce to a buddy in baghdad and he sold one bottle to a buddy of his for $30 after a bidding war between some other guys after they saw them.................

BTW, i checked and i don't have any country captain chicken but of the list i do have thai chicken, beef teriyaki and chicken tetrazzini. the chicken tetrazzini stays with me but i may be willing to unass one of the other two. fairly fresh stuff too, 4344

Posted: 1/5/2006 11:52:53 AM EST

[#47]

OR you can go to long life food

they sell the individual components that go into making a military MRE, same stuff:

Beef Stew!
- Spaghetti!
- Chili Macaroni!
- Chicken Fajita!
- Ham & Shrimp Jambalaya!
-Beef Enchilada!
- Mexican Macaroni & Cheese!
- Mexican Rice!
-Chicken Tetrazzini!
- Chicken and Noodles!
- Western Beans!
- Beef Steak w/Mushroom Gravy!
- Cajun Rice w/Beans & Beef Sausage!
- Meatloaf in Brown Gravy!
- Chicken w/Salsa!
- Cheese Omelet w/Vegetables!
- Cheese Tortellini!
- Minestrone Stew!
- Refried Beans!
- Mashed Potatoes!
- Raspberry Applesauce!
- Spiced Apples!

Posted: 1/5/2006 5:20:04 PM EST

[#48]

ever eaten C-rats? the MRE is far superior if you had to survive certainly for taste and nutrition.I hope they never get rid of the P/B and crackers Love that snack

Posted: 1/5/2006 5:56:27 PM EST

[#49]

Yes... yes I have!

They even came with four cigarettes in the package!

You all have it so good now. C rats were just something to survive!

Lord help you if you got stuck with the Ham and mutherfuckers (ham and lima beans). The omlet in a can was an experience too.

One can opener per case. It took a bit to get a "John Wayne" (P38 can opener) for everyone. It had a hole to put it on your dogtag chain. BRILLIANT idea! Until it came open when you were sleeping and you rolled over on it!

Then there were LRRPs (Lurps). The meal before the MRE. Packaged much the same, but dehydrated. You had to add water to the main course. What no water to spare or on the go... what a goof! BUT they ended up becoming MRE.

Posted: 1/6/2006 8:36:11 AM EST

[#50]

Yes, I ate C-rats.Just before we left Berlin is when we got the first generation MRE's.As I said I'd eat C-rats before chicken ala puke. Chalula's is one we sent and a bunch of different ones and different strengths also. My brother gets some in Texas that we can not find up here. Between the 2 of us we keep him well supplied.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - New year, new MREs (country captain's chicken is history) (Page 1 of 2)

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