Cross - deck ( naval terminology ) Cross - deck ( or cross - decking ) is naval jargon which may refer to either informal , ad - hoc sharing of resources between naval vessels ( historical usage ) , or the use of carrier decks ( or vessel borne helipads ) to host aircraft of foreign allies , aircraft from other ships in the same navy , or as re - fueling platforms for naval aircraft to extend flight operations beyond the range of the aircraft type . The operations may be entirely within a single navy , or between allied navies such as defined in the HOSTAC agreement . This may be required for ferrying aircraft or supplies , power projection operations involving fixed or rotary - wing aircraft , or to provide flexibility in operating limited numbers of specialized aircraft ( such as the EA - 6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft ) over a wide theatre of operations . Spare parts that can be lifted by helicopter are often crossed decked between ships operating compatible equipment ( especially if they are the same ship class ) , to reduce redundancy in carrying spares . Individual personnel may be cross - decked due to their required specialities being in need . Rarely , entire crews can be cross - decked to a newly commissioned ship from either a decommissioning vessel ( e . g . from USCGC " Bonham " to USCGC " Modoc " ) , or a vessel undergoing prolonged repair or renovation . More commonly , a core group of experienced personnel may be cross - decked to a new ship to allow the vessel to come to full readiness more quickly . Generally , a move of this type will be between ships with similar missions , though not necessarily the same ship class . This can be seen as a means of propagating institutional knowledge . Entire naval air units , up to and including naval air squadrons , may be transferred to re - balance a task force . For example , during WWII , carrier task groups might suffer more severe attrition in a single carrier air group , leaving an under - utilized support crew ( which , unlike air crews , generally do not suffer casualties unless the ship itself is attacked ) . Re - distribution of air - group units allow the individual carriers in a group to better use the fixed assets of each ship ( hangar space , maintenance crews , repair facilities , etc . ) . Alternately , a damaged fleet unit might disperse its air units to intact fleet units . For example , during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands , when the suffered critical damage , its surviving air group landed on . In turn , when " Enterprise " suffered damage , part of its air group operated temporarily from Henderson field on Guadalcanal ( though technically not a " deck " ) and contributed in the sinking of the battleship " Hiei " . Unplanned cross - decking often arose from aircraft in a critical fuel situation choosing any available landing place . Notably , during the aftermath of the Battle of the Philippine Sea , naval fliers returning at night with minimal fuel landed on whichever carrier in the task force was able to bring them in first , randomly scrambling the air groups throughout the carriers of the fleet . In more recent times , NATO nations operating ( or planning to operate ) CATOBAR capable carriers have included design considerations for operation of friendly aircraft from member nations . The French Dassault Rafale has been able to be operated from U . S . carrier flight decks since 2010 . Marine infantry units are routinely cross - decked to and from amphibious warfare ships as part of expeditionary warfare missions . This may be a direct prelude to a landing operation or in a preliminary stage of a power projection mission as a show of force . Etymology . The origin of the term is obscure , but may refer to ships moored closely side - to - side at a dock or at anchor , since it is possible literally to go " across the decks " from ship to ship via gangplank without touching land . Cross - decking implies ship - to - ship transfer . Receiving personnel or supplies from shore usually would not be defined as " cross - decking " . An exception to this rule might be personnel who only briefly come to shore who are then immediately re - assigned to an outbound ship without an intervening shore assignment or leave . The implication of cross - decking in this case would be an immediate turn around from one assignment to another without pause . Historical usage . Ships while docked or underway could transfer personnel or supplies directly from ship to ship via small boats or via cables run between ships . This was often " ad hoc " and informal , or arising from expedient requirements in times of war . Or it could be part of a more formal replenishment operation at sea . With the development of aircraft ( especially helicopters ) the distances involved in cross - decking operations could be greatly increased with ships that were widely dispersed .