Bustle rack A bustle rack is a type of storage bin mounted on combat vehicle s , usually on the sides and / or rear of the turret . These racks are used to carry extra gear and supplies for the vehicle in the field , as well as give the crew a place to store their belongings so that they don ' t take up the already cramped space inside the vehicle . The original rack design for the XM1 and first production M1 Abrams tanks was blueprinted by then 1LT John A . Baker III , XO and Company Maintenance Officer , H Co , 2 / 6 CAV , Ft . Knox , KY . Baker had previously developed the standard combat load plan for M60A1 tanks for the Rapid Deployment Force ( RDF ) , 194th Armored Brigade in the early 1980s and upon joining the Army ' s first XM1 / M1 unit , H Co , 2 / 6CAV . Baker and his platoon tested every aspect of the XM1 seven days a week for months on end , putting the Army ' s newest battle tank through its paces . It was during this time that Baker and his men became painfully aware that the vehicle ' s stowage would be significantly inadequate to support crew operations during combat . This motivated the lieutenant to take his platoon ' s field experiences and draft them into a unique yet simple solution . Following his stint as Platoon Leader and the subsequent XO for H Co , Baker began working with the Armor and Engineering Board to draft blueprints of a revolutionary new prototype rack . The advantages of the rack ' s unique " quick disconnect " design featured the use of standard quick disconnect pins already in use as fasteners on the tank ' s armored skirts . These pins enabled the easy removal of the bustle rack should it become damaged during combat or training operations . Removing the handful of lower mounting pins allowed the rack to be " pivoted " onto the blowout panels located on top and to the rear of the turret . Pivoting the rack eliminated interference between the rack and the back deck panel , providing unobstructed access to the tank ' s power plant during maintenance operations . The rack became widely known around the Army ' s Armor community as " The Baker Bustle " . The rack quickly gained popularity among M1 tankers and the fielded design , though slightly modified by General Dynamics Land Systems , is still the rack seen on M1A1 tanks in combat today , though as you can see from the inset photo , some units have modified their M1 ' s with an extended framework added to the standard bustle rack for additional stowage capacity . Source : CPT ( Ret ) John A . Baker III . During the Iraq War , some M1 Abrams tanks were fitted with a second bustle rack on the rear of the existing one at the back of the turret . This additional rack is often referred to as a bustle rack extension , or BRE . Also , some M113 s and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle s were fitted with similar stowage racks on the sides of the hull . The bustle rack extensions on the Abrams come in two versions ; one with provisions for mounting jerrycan s on either end originally used by US Marine Corps Abrams ( as seen in the image above ) and one without , used by U . S . Army Abrams , though the former has begun to replace the latter on Army tanks . Additionally , M109 self propelled howitzers in Israeli service have used bustle racks on their front turrets for carrying crewmens ' personal equipment for decades .