Hot Racking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hot racking (also known as hot bunking) is the sanctioned practice within the U.S. Navy and other military organizations of assigning more than one crewmember to a bed or "rack" to reduce berthing (sleeping) space. The practice dates back to the sixteenth century, and today is particularly applied aboard submarines, where maximization of space is especially important. Generally, the lowest ranking members of the crew are required to hot rack.
The term comes from the slang use of the term “rack” for a bed or bunk. With more than one crewmember assigned to a rack, it is possible that a crewmember returning from a duty shift will lay down on a rack immediately after it is vacated by another crewmember about to start a shift. The rack is therefore said to be “hot”. That is, warm from the vacating crewmember.
