Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base - Warnings Unheeded

It is surprising that a book about which you already know the outcome can still be so intriguing, but Warnings Unheeded is extremely so. The book was well written, highly detailed and extremely thoroughly researched. He brings to life stories that I had read about in the past, but never felt from the victim's point of view. I cannot imagine just how the author was able to organize all the different angles from so many that were affected, but he succeeded in doing so. I hope that the lessons within will educate those in the power to make changes in our military and beyond.

As a military police officer, I found this book to be relevant on many levels. Having been a police watch commander aboard one of our nation's bases, I understand the necessity of the police warrior mindset and the importance of maintaining it myself while instilling it in our first responders. As a military officer, I also understand the importance of continuity when holding subordinates accountable... especially when they exhibit dangerous behavior. Andy Brown's extensive research and personal experience weaves these lessons and more into an intricate narrative that should place Warnings Unheeded onto every Law Enforcement and military required reading list in our nation. Brown singlehandedly saved many lives on 20 June 1994, and his book has the great potential to help other leaders and first responders do the same in the present and future.

A great, great read. Andy Brown does a terrific job of explaining how these twin tragedies went down, his role in one of them, and challenges us to think hard about what could have been done differently to save all those lives. I'm a trauma therapist and have never, anywhere, read a better description of the adrenaline rush and crash that comes in a situation like this. Those people were lucky he was there that day -- it could have been so much worse.

I could not put this book down. I read it cover to cover. As usual, the root cause of the the two incidents in the book are government people not doing their job. These are command failures, and government has not learned its lesson as evidenced by the various shooting incidents that have happened since.

I met Andy at Firearms Academy of Seattle where he was assisting with the Active Shooter Intervention class. He is a quiet person who lets his skill talk for him. With this book he lets his research and writing skills do the talking.

I found Unheeded Warnings to be quite educational, heartbreaking, and inspirational all at the same time, an absolutely fantastic read. In my opinion, the book should be required-reading for the Armed Services, Law Enforcement and civilian carriers alike, much can be learned by it, if you heed the warnings.

Really captivating read. Recent shootings reminded me of the Fairchild hospital shooting and made me curious what happened in the lead up and after the murderer's attack. Highly recommend. So tragic to think the officer that responded first on a bike, was able to use a pistol accurately from 100yds, felt remorse. But glad he told why and what he went through.

This author did an outstanding job of making two distinct incidents serve the larger goal of revealing fundamental flaws in military decision making. His narrative of the actual shooting and his role in stopping it is the best piece of writing on such a subject I have ever read.

Excellent book, I can relate to his service because I was in his the same career field in the airforce. I recommended this book to some of my friends who also worked in the same field but as k9 handlers.

Excellent read. Very detailed, and informative reading. Not necessarily easy to read without shaking your head and wondering what the Air Force was thinking.
And I'm an Air Force vet, medic to boot.

This is an outstanding book from a very courageous warrior at a very critical event. His research of these two "preventable" tragic events can be a lesson to all in law enforcement especially in leadership roles. GREAT JOB Andy!

Excellent read! I found the book a thoroughly researched, documented and delivered narrative. For any military veteran you will find yourself living many parts of the storyline as I did. Thanks Andy for your service and dedication to family and country.

The parallel writing of the two tragedies, and the on going recovery of the author, is a unique insight to the mental health system. Then and now.

Mental health isn't black and white, but an unending series of grays, and this book opens the door to that gray gap.

Individuals in any medical field, mental health and law enforcement can learn from this excellent book.

When Andy contacted me about the Melberg incident I was a bit hesitant to talk about it. After speaking with Andy and finding out his involvement, I knew the book would help me heal. After reading it I knew it was the perfect remedy. Andy is a hero to so many, from so many different perspectives.

Great Job! Easy read.

I was in basic training at the time these incidents occurred, followed by the SP tech school. It was great to read and learn what actually transpired that day at Fairchild. I highly recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position.

Although I remember the tragic events of Fairchild Air Force Base 1994, Warnings Unheeded tells the emotional story of before, during and after both of these tragities. The book kept my interest and the way the author intertwines the stories together is amazing!

Warnings Unheeded pulls you in and does not let you go! The story masterfully intertwines two tragedies that occurred within days of each other and how they both could have been avoided. The lessons in this book are invaluable to everyone. I want to thank the author for sharing his and other's stories of that tragic week.

GOTCHA
GOTCHA!!!! I knew you would want to see what anyone would have to say negative about this book. Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.-other than to say to author Brown, that you are responsible for my having lost a night's sleep last night, because I was simply unable to put his book down. What an incredibly good author you are. As a Spokaneite I experienced the news coverage of the two events, and so was interested in reading your coverage. I expected some amateurish effort, so was really excited to discover what an amazingly good author you are. An incredible job of detailed research of records, and of interviews with the various participants. I truly appreciate your obvious dedication to this effort.

Perfect title. It should not have taken mental health experts to determine that this individual had no business continuing in the AF right from the beginning. Everyone who interacted with Mellberg recognized that he was incredibly emotionally unstable and that he presented like a time bomb ready at any moment to explode. Wheather an earlier dismissal from the AF would have prevented the tragedy is unknown, but why was it that in spite of the efforts of the professionals along the way, the military brass refused to take action. They were not mental health experts and due to ego, insecurity or whatever, chose to reject the expert opinions of those charged with the responsibility of providing them with the information necessary for them to make reality based decisions regarding an individuals mental health status to stay in the military. The mental health experts did their job. The chain of command failed to do theirs.
With respect to Lt. Colonel Holland: People are likely to say that his situation simply slipped through the cracks due to the frequent changes in base commanders etc. Wrong. It was allowed to go on for the reason that high ranking individuals just refused to take command responsibility to act on the significant amount of information available to them.

Having demonstrated your writing credentials, I would hope that you Mr. Brown will undertake another project in the realm of non fiction writing.
Final ranking: FIVE STAR

Brown's work is outstanding. I've been a cop for twenty years, but I initially started looking at Warnings Unheeded from a Risk Management perspective. I was interested in the details of the failures of leadership and decision-makers that definitely led to these tragedies - both of which should have been prevented with the protocols that were already in place at the time.

Brown lived it, stopped it from being worse, and dealt with his own personal aftermath. I was about to put the book down and skip the last chapter or two, but I'm glad that I didn't. He describes his personal struggles in a matter-of-fact and realistic way that will help other people that have been involved in critical incidents see that their reactions and perceptions are normal.

His research and interviews were obviously very detailed and in-depth. He does an excellent job of providing the reader with an extensive amount of background information in the incidents and the people involved in both of them.

Brown's writing style is engaging - I read it in two days and will likely read it again in the near future.

I will definitely buy any and all books he publishes in the future.

In just one week in June 1994, Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington saw two tragic events. One, a horrific act of violence by a lone gunman who entered the base hospital with an assault rifle and the second, a devastating air crash which saw a B-52 bomber fall out of the sky and hit the ground in a ball of flames.

Andy Brown is a retired US Air Force Staff Sergeant and the man hailed as a hero within the mass shooting carried out by Dean Mellberg at Fairchild’s Hospital on 20 June 1994. His book “Warnings Unheeded” tells the untold stories of these two events and he tells them in parallel, highlighting the warning signs and the oversights made in the preceding months and years that led to both these tragedies occurring.

The success of Warnings Unheeded lies in Brown's engaging and heavily researched accounts of these cases and his reflections and understandings of the aftermath for himself, the survivors and families wrapped up in these two events. Through diligent research and rare honesty, Brown has provided a true insight into the aftermath of both these tragedies, a part of the story so many books do not explore. An in-depth and moving read telling the untold story with an important message to give.

Thank you for writing this book. I was there at the funeral helping with the eulogy of my dear friend who was the Chief Medical Officer of the Mental Health Clinic at Fairchild. I was with his wonderful wife and we both saw the B-52 flying at nearly vertical angles as we were driving to Fairchild to help with his personal possessions in his office. Just minutes after the funeral, we saw the B-52 drop out of the sky. As a flight surgeon, I rushed to the flight line and emergency room but there was nothing that could be done. Both of these tradgrdies could have been prevented if the warnings were headed.

But after reading the reviews, I felt it was mandatory that I read this. Let me explain. I live in Las Vegas. This incident at Fairchild happened on October 1 years back.
The terrible day in October 2017 where a crazy gunman looked out his window in Las Vegas and shot and killed 58 people at a country music festival. He injured 100s more and traumatized 1000s more. Thousands!!!
Mr.Brown did an amazing job of research on this book.
I must commend him for his bravery and for his dedication to duty.
Incredible detail.
Read this book. It gives many valid reasons that we should revamp our mental care policies.
I finished this book on October 1.

Excellent account of avoidable tragedies. The author does great service in describing the aftermath of his successful shooting that ended one of the incidents for many people - except himself.
Highly recommended

Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, WA was the scene of two terrible tragedies just 4 days apart in June 1994 - a mass shooting by a disgruntled ex-airman and a B-52 crash during an air show practice flight. In "Warnings Undeeded", author Andy Brown takes us inside both incidents and details the events, their aftermath and, more importantly - the warning signs that went missed or ignored.

Andy Brown is not just the author of the book, he was the Air Force police officer who stopped the mass shooter, dropping him with a pistol shot literally between the eyes. Despite his personal involvement, Brown manages to distance himself just the right amount from the story, lending a detached objectivity to the retelling of events, giving them a very high degree of credibility. Brown is exhaustive in his detail, recounting exactly what happened to every one of the shooter's victims and what the plane's pilots went through. It can be a bit overwhelming in the amount of detail at times but the reward is definitely worth it.

But where the book really shines, and where the title comes from, is Brown's painstaking documentation of all the warnings and issues leading up to both incidents that went ignored. Over and over and over, the shooter was recommended for discharge from the Air Force. Each time it was ignored. Over and over and over, the B-52 pilot in the crash executed unsafe maneuvers and had crews refusing to fly with him. Each time it was ignored. The net effect of all these "Warnings Unheeded" was to infuriate me as I read the book. It was incredibly frustrating to read all of the times something could have easily been done to prevent tragedy and wasn't.

All of this comes wrapped in an engaging, easy to read style making the whole book and compelling, tough to put down, read. This is easily one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

I have to confess that I didn't remember this tragedy as things were hectic in my life at the time, also it was around the time of the Nicole Brown Ron Goldman murders and here in Southern California it dominated our news. Reading this book and seeing how preventable these twin tragedies were, I became angry that it was a foreseeable problem and due to neglect of following recommendations lives were snuffed out. This book was very well written and informative, didn't want to put it down.