Book Review: Warnings Unheeded, Andy Brown

Andy Brown is a former Air Force airman who ended the 1994 hospital active shooter on Fairchild Airforce Base. His book follows the path of the active shooters life and trajectory, as well as the Air Force pilot responsible for a B-52 crash that killed 4 people. Warnings Unheeded is a compilation of accounts from friends, medical staff and fellow airmen of both subjects.

Andy Brown tracks Dean Mellberg, the man that would ultimately commit multiple murder in a hospital adjacent to Fairchild Airforce Base in Spokane, Washington. He chronicles his upbringing, his Air Force career, and his final decision to kill.

Brown also writes about Arthur "Bud" Holland, an Air Force pilot who's pilot error resulted in the deaths of 4 people, including himself. Hollands distinguished career as well as his disregard for procedure are documented, culminating in the B-52 crash at the 1994 air show on Fairchild.

Both of these accounts are not meant to taint the reputation of the Air Force, nor the individuals, but simply to inform people about how to process potential warning signs. Both stories are fraught with times at which a different path could be taken, but was not. With more of this information available, we can hopefully more accurately predict and prevent tragedy.

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