Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base

by Andy Brown, Massad Ayoob (Foreword by)

Overview

Mass murder and military aviation disaster. One community's experience with two fatal tragedies that occurred suddenly... but not without warning.

On 20 June 1994, a vengeance-seeking gunman opened fire in an Air Force hospital. Despite warnings from his roommates and co-workers. Despite the efforts of mental-health doctors. A sociopath had slipped through the cracks.

Four days after the shooting, a B-52 bomber crashed during an air-show practice flight. Aviators had complained about the rogue pilot and his reckless maneuvers. When leadership refused to ground him, they predicted the worst air-show disaster in history.

This compelling true story is told in the words of the people who witnessed the tragedies unfold--the heroes, the first responders, the victims and the survivors.

Written by Andy Brown, the Air Force cop who ended the killing spree. After seven years of research, Warnings Unheeded is part of his ongoing effort to share the story of two preventable tragedies and the lessons within.

How many times have you heard that a killer, "just snapped?" Or that a tragic "accident" was unpredictable?

If you like true crime, nonfiction storytelling, or learning from history--read this page-turning true story of mass murder and aviation disaster.

***Contains more than 70 photographs and images.***

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997863406
Publisher:	Wu Press
Publication date:	11/05/2016
Pages:	380
Sales rank:	679,370
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword.......................................................................xiii
Shots Fired......................................................................1
Port Orchard....................................................................5
Lansing............................................................................9
92nd Bomb Wing........................................... ...............15
Basic Training................................................................21
Lowry AFB.....................................................................29
Airman Brown................................................. ..............33
Mountain Home AFB...................................... ..............37
Iraklion AS.....................................................................41
1991-1992 Air Shows...................................................45
Fairchild PMEL............................................... ..............55
Fairchild Mental Health.................................. ...............63
1993 Air Show...............................................................79
Stateside........................................................................83
Wilford Hall.................................................... ..............87
Patient Squadron..........................................................105
Reassignment...............................................................111
Black Rock Desert........................................................115
Yakima Valley...............................................................119
Cannon AFB................................................................125
Discharged...................................................................135
Deployed......................................................................143
Mister Mellberg.............................................. ..............147
Return to San Antonio................................... ..............151
Lt Col Mark McGeehan................................. ..............153
Preparation...................................................................165
20 June 1994................................................................171
Police Response...........................................................207
Base Housing...............................................................225
Hospital Aid.................................................... .............229
Survivors......................................................................251
Victim Twenty-Three....................................................255
Czar 52........................................................... .............257
Sheriff's Investigation...................................................279
Politics and Media........................................................281
Memorial......................................................... ............285
Lawsuit.......................................................... ..............291
Accountability and Change..........................................295
Trauma to Recovery....................................................299
Afterword.....................................................................319
Reference Material......................................................325
Bibliography.................................................................339
Acknowledgments........................................................343
Index............................................................................345

Editorial Reviews

"An amazing book. An instant classic. Staff Sergeant Brown is a true guardian who saved countless lives with supernatural marksmanship skill in a moment of great need, but he has also proven himself to be a true warrior-wordsmith who will save even more lives, as the lessons from this book are learned and applied in our current violent times. Absolutely "required reading" for law enforcement and mental health professionals, but also profoundly valuable for anyone who wants to understand violence and mental illness in our society today."
-Lt Col Dave Grossman (US Army, retired)
Author of On Combat, On Killing, and Assassination Generation

"There are specific lessons in this book that can help us to prevent lethal tragedy. Lessons for bosses, subordinates, and coworkers. Lessons for law enforcement, and for psychologists, and for human resources personnel. But there are also general lessons for all of us that can save lives, though perhaps not so dramatically nor so heroically as Andy Brown saving uncounted lives when he 'rode to the sound of the guns.'"
-From the Foreword written by Massad Ayoob

"In vivid and thoroughly researched detail, Andy Brown masterfully weaves two tragic stories ... In parallel accounts he craftily weds the stories of the vivid dysfunction of a troubled young airman and the reckless arrogance of a senior officer and aviator. As Andy Brown clearly displays, if warnings had been heeded, the behavior of both men would not have led to disastrous ends. ... this is an important and well-written read."
-Gregory K. Moffatt, Ph.D., Author of Blind-Sided: Homicide Where it is Least Expected and A Violent Heart

"Rich in fascinating detail and page-turning narration, Warnings Unheeded delivers memorable insights into the kind of slaughter that so often fills news cycles these days, and the resilience heroes need to fight back from the emotional toll of protecting other lives."
-Charles Remsberg, Author of the Street Survival book series

From the Publisher