Senators’ Letter Comes After President Trump’s Recent Comments Supporting New Fighter Mission at Selfridge
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI) underscored their willingness to work with President Trump and his Administration to secure a new fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County. In a letter to President Trump, Peters and Slotkin expressed their appreciation of his recent commitment to base a new fighter mission at Selfridge, which builds on the long-term bipartisan efforts of Peters, Slotkin, and the Michigan delegation at-large to achieve this goal.
“As you highlighted, Selfridge has enjoyed bipartisan support from the Michigan Congressional delegation, state and local leaders and the Macomb County community to recapitalize the 107th Fighter Squadron’s A-10 aircraft with an advanced fighter,” Peters and Slotkin wrote. “Your announcement is an important step towards realizing our long-held goal and we are ready to work with you, the Department of Defense and the Air Force to identify and base a new advanced fighter mission at Selfridge.”
The letter also highlights the advantages of placing a new fighter mission at Selfridge, including the base’s proximity to Michigan’s key military installations such as the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, which is comprised of the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Northern Michigan.
“Selfridge is the ideal location for a future fighter mission with the experienced pilots, crews and maintainers, access to world-class exercises and training ranges with state-of-the-art infrastructure,” the senators continued. “The world is facing greater threats than at any time since the end of World War II. It is fitting that during this time of need our country once again turns to Michigan to protect America by placing a new fighter mission at Selfridge. We stand ready to work closely with you and the Department of Defense to make this new mission a reality.”
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. In January 2024, Peters announced that the U.S. Air Force selected Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County 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 the next 50 years. 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 and Selfridge since its inception.
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 is already working to set 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.
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