Based on the Standard Star Army Crew Cabin (Enlisted) and the Standard Star Army Infantry Squad Cabin, the Standard Star Army Barracks Segment was devised by Kage Yaichiro in late YE 39 for the Star Army of Yamatai as part of a larger refit program. It is intended as the smallest standalone unit for living accommodations, measuring 2.5m x 2m compared to the standard crew cabin's minimum size of 4m x 2m. The pictured segment has a 2 meter tall ceiling, but this varies depending on the site in which the segment is installed and can be up to 4 meters high. Showers, baths, toilets, and laundry areas are external to this design and are not included.
It is popular to add a bunk bed with a drawer option in rooms that are 2.25 meters tall or larger, provided a third bunk is not added.
The Barracks Segment is typically found wherever a large number of people need to fit within a limited area or have limited resources to work with. It is not meant to be a replacement for the Standard Star Army Infantry Squad Cabin or the Ke-P1-08a - Barracks in their respective use cases if available. They can typically be found in refugee camps, ground bases housing infantry, in training facilities, or on refitted ships that have a capability of carrying larger groups of people than initially intended. They are often not intended for regular use in the latter-most cases; rather being allocated for temporary increases in infantry compliment for specific missions, delivering infantry to a hot zone, transporting large numbers of scientists or specialists to a site, or an emergency transport capability for evacuees. They can instead be used for storage when not being used to house people, which reduces their impact on a ship's floor plan.
It should also be noted that the 2.5m x 2m dimensions lend the segments well to installation in Standard Starship Cargo Containers for easy deployment. The most efficient forms of deployment are the SSCC-Large and the SSCC-Huge, which can hold 5 and 20 segments each respectively. The SSCC Huge can hold 40 segments if a floor is added to make it 2 decks high. While this is not a replacement for other offerings, this arrangement can certainly supplement them if a large number of people need immediate housing.
Fitting two people in such a small space with any semblance of comfort required the creation of a special bunk bed, the Star Army Bunk Bed, Type 40. It allows the desk to share the same footprint as the bed; along with two Star Army Footlockers, the desk's light source, appropriate foot space, and a stowage area for a pair of folding chairs between the foot lockers and the bottom of the desk. It can store up to four footlockers without any foot room underneath, but it is typically not used in this fashion. The beds are also compatible with virtual reality simulations(including the Virtual Collective Experience) that give an escape from the small room size if desired, albeit one whose hours and times are regulated by the superior officers. It can also be used for telepresence or as an option for supplemental training(such as through VCE Training). Incremental Soul Transfers can also be made, backing up at a rate of six hours for each hour slept, provided certain security prerequisites are met.
The wall has a volumetric window which can double as a monitor or a viewscreen. It is typically used when the bunk bed is in desk mode. It is possible, however, for the person in the lower bunk to sneak in a movie if they desire. Because there are only curtains splitting these segments apart, and the lower person may choose to watch a movie while their bunkmate sleeps, there is a pair of audio jacks in the wall at the bottom of the screen for two sets of headphones. Multiple wireless headphones can also be used. Above the bureau and also on the wall is the room's main light source. It should be noted that the bunk bed has its own volumteric screen offering, allowing two people to independently use their own screens.
Finally, the bureau in the room is a four drawer model with two shelves reserved for each user. It is possible to open the face panel of the bureau and use the revealed space on either side of the drawers as a tiny bit of hangar space for things that must not be folded or are too tall for the drawers, but the folding of clothes is notably preferred. This space can also serve as a secondary location for the room's folding chairs. The individual drawers are removable, waterproof, and washable; and it is possible to obtain baking soda and kitty litter with which to fill one in case a person has a rescued pet in a refugee setting.
It should be noted that if a room is tall enough, it is possible to add in a third bunk or a drawer. As the former strains the space in the barrack segment, however, it is recommended to leave the curtain open in this case unless the third entity is a child. The latter, however, is a popular upgrade.
To allow for privacy and the ability to identify one's segment at a glance, each segment has curtains on both sides of it that move around and meet at the front. Magnetic clasps lining each edge can shut the curtain. If desired, it is possible to pull back the inner curtains on two adjacent segments and join the outer curtains together as one large segment. This can be used for groups of soldiers larger than two who are close, but is chiefly included out of consideration for refugee families who may be forced to temporarily live in these accommodations in cases of emergency.
Both curtains bear an identification number which helps identify which segment is which. This is printed twice on each properly closed segment as a result. For example, “101” translates to “Row 1, Segment 01” of a barrack. An example of this is where four rows of barracks with ten segments each would thus be numbered 101-110, 201-210, 301-310, and 401-410. If two segments' curtains are joined together as one large segment, each segment will be represented by one of their curtains' identification numbers and it will be easy to tell that the segments are combined. The identification number of a barrack also serves as a valid identifier for a mailing or shipping address.
When not being used as living space, it is possible to use any segment or collection of segments as storage. The bed can be folded up and pushed against the wall. The curtains can also be pulled back against the wall to free up the barracks as a continuous space. In this configuration, not counting any Star Army Footlockers, each segment counts as roughly 2m x 2m of storage space. This allows a vessel to justify including these barracks in its design as a precaution even if they are not routinely used.
