WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI) are advocating for continued investment at Selfridge Air National Guard Base to support basing of the recently announced 21 F-15EX fighters, as well as the 12 KC-46A tankers the senators helped secure in January 2024. In a letter sent to the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, the senators underscored the strategic and economic importance of Selfridge and requested the full funding necessary to prepare for these new missions.
“Selfridge Air National Guard Base is an essential and strategic location for northern border security and homeland defense. Selfridge is a joint military installation and home to many national security assets of the United States, including servicemembers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard,” wrote the senators. “Selfridge is also a pillar of both the local community in Macomb County and Michigan’s robust defense sector, supporting approximately 5,000 military and civilian jobs and generating an estimated $850 million in economic impact statewide.”
In the letter, the senators highlight improvements currently being made at Selfridge to properly outfit the base to receive the F-15EXs and KC-46As, including a $28 million investment secured by the Michigan congressional delegation to construct a new hangar capable of accommodating the new aircraft. However, additional funding is needed to ensure a seamless transition to the incoming aircraft.
The senators continued: “Given the incoming fighter and tanker missions and the importance of preparing Selfridge to continue to play a critical role in our national security, we respectfully request the full funding necessary for military construction to follow-through on the commitments made and fight to deliver federal investments at Selfridge.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senators Peters and Slotkin have made supporting the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base a top priority. Prior to the F-15EX basing announcement in April, Peters and Slotkin sent a letter urging the Air Force to base a new fighter mission at Selfridge. Earlier this year, the senators introduced bipartisan legislation seeking to preserve the U.S. Air Force’s fighter force structure and support the recapitalization of Air National Guard fighter missions, including at Selfridge. In March, they also led a bipartisan, bicameral resolution to honor the 108th anniversary of Selfridge Air National Guard Base and commemorate the thousands of men and women who have worked and trained at Selfridge since its inception. In January 2024, the senators helped announce that the U.S. Air Force selected Selfridge to host a new squadron of twelve KC-46A refueling tankers. This announcement came shortly after Peters led a bipartisan, bicameral group of Michigan delegation members, including Slotkin, in urging then-U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to select Selfridge for a new squadron of these next-generation tankers, which will be deployed by the U.S. Air Force for at least the next 50 years.
To further strengthen Selfridge’s role in U.S. national and homeland security efforts, Peters established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Northern Border Mission Center last year. Peters secured $3 million last March to operate this Center at Selfridge, where it is collocated with current DHS components. The Center, which DHS has already stood up, will coordinate with state, local, and Tribal governments, and other key stakeholders, to ensure DHS and its operational components are able to fulfill their security mission at the Northern Border.
