you have solved it!!!!!!
NOT
not just subs. surface ships and aircraft all use red light in an operational setting.
"rig" just means to flip all the lights from white to red.
Also white light is visible from a much greater distance than red light.
not a theory. as naval aviator it was crucial to night flying. only downside is that you cannot distinguish other colors. all text looked black regardless of what is really was.
even with the red, I always dimmed it down to the lowest possible level and still see notes.