Center will strengthen Selfridge’s role in America’s defense and national security efforts
Team Selfridge is getting $3 million to expand its mission.
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Governmental Affairs Committee, secured the funding to establish and operate a Northern Border Coordination Center that will work with existing DHS components that are currently operating out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
“The federal funding I secured to establish a Northern Border Coordination Center will help the Department of Homeland Security prioritize the needs of the Northern Border and build on the critical role Selfridge Air National Guard Base plays in protecting our nation,” Peters said, in a news release. “The funding will help coordinate border security efforts across the Northern Border, and support personnel training and high-tech border security technology testing. I’ll continue working to ensure that Michigan and assets like Selfridge remain at the forefront of our nation’s homeland and national security missions.”
SANG’s mission has been evolving since the Michigan National Guard took possession of the former Joy Aviation Field in 1917. While it’s always played a major role in America’s defense, a bipartisan bill that has advanced in the Senate requires the DHS to further expand the operations and duties of the base.
Defense experts believe that any threats we face in the future are likely to come from the north. DHS already has a presence on the base and in Detroit.
Once the center is established by the Northern Border Coordination Act, it will be able to support and coordinate with existing efforts provided by DHS and the U.S. Coast Guard along with more than 40 other tenants including components of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Customs and Border Protection operating out of SANG. The base is also home to nearly 5,000 full-time civilian and military personnel and military aircraft being used today and possibly in the future.
These resources, combined with additional personnel being added, will enable the center to support the implementation of unique northern border security strategies such as tracking security metrics, serving as a training location for DHS personnel and as testing grounds for new border security technologies.
A view of a KC-135 refueling an A-10 during a training mission. Once established the Center will expand SANG's role in training. GINA JOSEPH - THE MACOMB DAILY
A view of a KC-135 refueling an A-10 during a training mission. Once established the Center will also expand SANG’s role in training. (GINA JOSEPH – THE MACOMB DAILY)
It will also have the capability to serve as a coordination mechanism for implementing, evaluating, and updating the Northern Border Strategy, and any successor strategy that might be required. It also requires the center to serve as a training location, act as a testing ground for border security technology, and enact measures to combat any unmanned aircraft systems along the U,S. and Canadian border.
“Selfridge Air National Guard Base has been and will continue to be an integral part of our nation’s defense,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. “For more than 100 years this installation has been a model of collaboration and readiness protecting our nation at home and abroad. Locating the Northern Border Coordination Center at Selfridge is a testament to the base’s capabilities and the men and women who serve there. I want to thank Senator Peters for leading this effort, and we look forward to supporting the center in any capacity.”
Candice Miller concurred.
“I applaud Senator Peters for his advocacy on this issue of Northern Border and national security,” said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, the Honorary Commander of Selfridge Air National Guard Base who spent 14 years serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. “This Northern Border Coordination Center based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be a welcome addition to the various components at Selfridge and focus needed attention to security at our Northern Border. Our community looks forward to working with Senator Peters to continue this effort.”