Pets in Dorms?

One of mine had an aquarium. Not sure if “allowed” or not.

The fishies met the same demise most do when families go on vacation, confident those ‘timed feeders’ will work. That never do.

RIP fishies.

And all are issued pets: bugs/mice/baboon roommates….

Hopefully you aren’t referring to ‘emotional support animals’
 
I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.
 
I would add that USMMA does allow pets in dorms as a part of an official Service Dog training program. There are roughly 5 lab pups on campus and they are assigned to mids who train and socialize them before sending them back to the service dog company for the next leg of their journey. It is REALLY cool, and as you can imagine - a very competitive program that many mids want to participate in. The dogs go everywhere with the midshipmen handlers and can be seen in formation or other events like this:
dog.pngdog2.png
 
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I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.

This is one of the top 5 best posts on SAF and sums of cadet/MIDN life quite well.
 
I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.
Classic, just a classic, especially the thought balloon narrative - so true, regardless of whether you are at an SA or other military location where living quarters are inspected.
 
I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.
This is the most 99'er post ever! Of course it was Goldschlager. What else is there? Man, I love our class.
 
I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.
My best friend and roommate from our last two years at West Point kept a small hibachi grille hidden behind our overheads in the wardrobe. Somehow it managed to never get discovered in four years there. That thing was great for grilling on the weekends, particularly in the spring. We would make a quick trip up to the commissary, grab some food and drinks (non-alcohol) and head down to the parking lot by the baseball field and grill away. Our Firstie year we would break it out when we would go wash our cars up at one of the rec areas. He actually has a picture from his Yearling year of the grille on fire in his room with the flames shooting up to the window. His then roommate has a look of excitement and horror at the same time on his face.
 
I thought I would add a comment back for the OP, in case they were serious. DD says the things she misses most are dogs and little kids. (She babysat a lot). I will add there seems to be groups that go over to the local pet shelter fairly frequently to volunteer there. It's a good way to get a "pet" fix. As for the little kids, she hangs with the chaplains kids when they are at common events.
 
I thought I would add a comment back for the OP, in case they were serious. DD says the things she misses most are dogs and little kids. (She babysat a lot). I will add there seems to be groups that go over to the local pet shelter fairly frequently to volunteer there. It's a good way to get a "pet" fix. As for the little kids, she hangs with the chaplains kids when they are at common events.
I grew up in a house with a LOT of pets and it was hard for me to leave them. My sponsor surprised me wtih a kitten to be kept at her house in October of my 4 degree year. Best sponsor ever! She also had a dog and another cat so I always felt at home going there.
 
DD is grateful for her sponsor family, but it seems like the common bond match was church. They have no kids and no pets, but do offer a quiet and welcoming place away from USAFA for DD to study and relax. Unfortunately, our dog died in November, so she doesn't get that pet fix when on break either. I keep saying go ask the neighbor to walk their dog and hang out with them, my plate is full right now for a new dog...
 
Thankfully, some professors and SEL's bring their dogs on the Yard so DS gets his dog fix on occasion. I can also confirm that a social media video showed a certain 'Chester Mid Mouse' scurrying under the door of the SEL's office. He may or may not have been 'herded' in that direction, so needless to say, the SEL has a new pet whether they know it or wanted it. :wow:
 
I just remembered that West Point had a event where cadets could hold animals for stress relief. This was one of the happiest pics our son ever sent, just wish I didn't have blur out that enormous grin:

Bunny2.jpg
 
I have told the tale before...... but "not allowed" and "against the rules" does not stop creative, determined, and smart people from doing things they are not supposed to do.

For 1 year, my roommate kept an iguana. He was over 12" when I last saw him, so it was not a fully grown iguana, but still required a 20 gallon or so aquarium and heat lamp. After the "adult leadership" had left for the day, my roommate would walk "Homey" down the halls and pretty much every cadet in the squadron knew about the iguana.

During graduation week of 1998, there was a knock at the door at 0530 for a surprise MWH (Morale, Welfare, and Health) inspection that looks for "not allowed" stuff like candles, alcohol, drugs, and other things like pets I guess - although pets are so outlandish, it is seriously the last thing they would expect to see in a cadet room.

As I sat up in bed in reaction to the banging on the door and the commotion in the hallway - I knew we were dead because of the iguana. I had also brought a TV back at Spring Break earlier that year -- and as a Junior, that was not allowed at the time and was a privilege reserved for seniors. So, two strikes for this room.... That is when my rule averse roommate informed me - "!@#$ (crap), there is a bottle of Goldschlager (alcohol) in the freezer..."

Oh man... we are so dead, I thought to myself as I evaluated my life choices. Let's recap the violations I am mentally prepping myself for in this 3 second montage.
Strike 1 - live iguana
Strike 2 - TV
Strike 3 - alcohol in the dorm room of two under age cadets

We open the door and turn on the lights. Three people enter and I want to say they were all Military Training Advisors (MTAs) which are senior enlisted AF members and not cadets. This is important because a cadet may let things slide, but an MTA only has loyalty to the rules and has a general interest in MWH within the common living facility.

Yelling commences as they see the obvious TV violation. My head is hung low because they have not yet discovered the best parts of our room that will soon reveal themselves within the following seconds. Closets and drawers are being rummaged and I am giving my roommate a look that says "if we make it out of this alive and are not kicked out of the school, you are a dead man for putting me in this position."

The inspection drone on for what seemed like forever and my heart raced as they approached the aquarium and the fridge because I knew what was coming. The aquarium was against the wall with the narrow side exposed and the depth of the tank ran alongside the emphamis cadet trunk. There was a blanket on the top of the trunk and the inspectors slid that to the side of the trunk to open it -- not giving much attention to the fact that they just covered the tank with a blanket and were hiding it from view inadvertently. With nothing illegal in the trunk, they moved onto the fridge. My "I will kill you" eyes still laser focused on my roommate, the expression changed to one that emoted "OMG dude - I think they are going to miss seeing the tank!" But that quickly turned into "PLEASE DON'T FIND THE ALCOHOL IN THE FREEZER!"

This was when the second miracle happened. The inspector opened the fridge and looked around, then a quick opening of the freezer door, and then they closed the fridge and moved on. Nothing said..... It turns out, there was a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in front of his bottle and they saw something that belonged in the freezer and just moved on.

It was at that time we both went into DISTRACT MODE and drew their attention away from the fridge and aquarium. We pointed out a candle and that seemed to conclude our inspection that morning. We were instructed to take all contraband to the CQ desk at the center of the squadron and atone for our sins. As I carried out our big TV, I was met at the desk by the future squad com who had his lab rat. Most people knew about Homey the iguana, but I did not know there were other pet violators just down the hall.

In the end, I expressed that the iguana had to go and I would no longer be a willing coconspirator. The sponsor family took him in and that was that.


I sooo wish we had an award for "SAF Post of the Year" because this one had it all!
  • Tension, and Suspense
  • Comedy "Please sirs, don't take away our candle!"
  • Reptiles
  • Alcohol
 
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I sooo wish we had an award for "SAF Post of the Year" because this one had it all!
  • Tension, and Suspense
  • Comedy "Please sirs, don't take away our candle!"
  • Reptiles
  • Alcohol
Missing only:
  • Chase scene
  • Train wreck
(@OldRetSWO @WT Door @Old Navy BGO will have to help out with the classic elements of a great wardroom movie)
 
Missing only:
  • Chase scene
  • Train wreck
(@OldRetSWO @WT Door @Old Navy BGO will have to help out with the classic elements of a great wardroom movie)
There is a different story for the chase scene.... it involved cadets (not me), downtown Denver night club, baseball bat to cadet car windows at a red light, chase scene, one way downtown streets, dead end, trunk full of belongings for the summer, fake M16 removed from said trunk (ala "say hello to my little friend"}, bad guys bailing in reverse, one perpetrator left behind when the cars left, pursuit vehicle of other cadets getting on scene just after the climax, and people telling the tale during Monday morning class during summer school.

Where was that post the other day about "can you have fun at a SA?" - while I don't think this was smart, he surveyed his options and took the one he felt was best and lived to tell about it.........
 
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