Thanks to one of the latest online tools the military is forking over more than $600,000 just to mask the problematic design of one of its buildings. Built in the 1960s, the Coronado, California bases actually look very much like a swastika – the symbol made infamous by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Now changes are being made to the building despite its having had the same design for more than four decades.

What is Google Earth?

Before discussing the building itself, we should explain what Google Earth is and how it brought this issue to the attention of people all over the Internet. The software literally maps the earth by using a combination of different data, including satellite images and aerial photography. The program is completely free on the Internet and can be accessed by anyone. And thats exactly what happened.

For whatever reason, people looking either at the base itself or the surrounding area noticed the unusual shape of the building. Word spread quickly over the Internet and eventually reached the military.

The Swastika Shape Overlooked

If you’re wondering why it took more than forty years for this design flaw to come to someone’s attention, the main reason is that the building’s shape is only visible from above. No commercial or military aircraft fly over the area so until the Google Earth shots hit the Internet no one had seen the building from that viewpoint before. Of course, when the design was on the drawing board, it might have been a different story.

The reason the building looks like a swastika is that it is actually a compound consisting of four L-shaped barracks. The arrangement of the barracks is similar to the arrangement of the arms on a swastika. Although the swastika itself is a design that has been around since the Neolithic period and was seen in religious motifs long before Hitler came to power, the symbol is now almost synonymous with the Nazis and the atrocities they committed. Clearly, the American military could not allow one of its buildings to call to mind such an association.

Military Slow to React

Although spokespeople for the military made it quite clear that they did not want to have such as association, they were a bit slow to take action. The problem was first called to their attention through a series of letters written in the spring of 2006. Their first response was that they would continue to use the barracks, which are set aside for the Navy’s amphibious units, since they were completely functional. Something happened to change their mind and by October 2007 they had acquitted the funding to make some changes to the building they hope will revise its aerial appearance.

Planned Building Changes

The $600,000 allowed for the changes is going to pay for several alterations, including the addition of walkways and more landscaping. The biggest expense will be the addition of more solar panels which will be placed on the roofs of the barracks.