Most of the Army's engineering in Whittier was pretty amazing. For example, Begich Towers is built on three sections with a gap of six inches through the full

Most of the Army's engineering in Whittier was pretty amazing. For example, Begich Towers is built on three sections with a gap of six inches through the full height. The gap is closed in with steel, accordion-shaped baffle so that in the frequent earthquakes, they could move independently instead of breaking. On the other hand, hip-roofs simply weren't in the Army handbook, so everything was built with a flat roof. In a town that may get 400 inches of precipitation in some years, most of it snow, it's a recipe for disaster. Many of the smaller buildings roofs (including the school) were destroyed that way. Begich Tower's roof leaks. I mean, you can be on any floor and have your roof leak due to the capillary action through the cracks. The plumbing sucked. You let the water run until it was clear before you started drinking.