Politics & Government
Video: Selfridge Officials Await Decision on Uncertain Future of A-10s
Selfridge Air National Guard Base, one of the largest military installations in Michigan, has long played an important role in the security of the United States, but may lose 24 A-10 Warthog fighter jets under the current federal budget.
Selfridge Air National Guard Base has been protecting metro Detroit and the United States since the dawn of military aviation.
The base, which opened in 1917, has been the training ground for pilots in bi-planes, the Tuskegee Airmen to today's supersonic fighters. The men and women from the Harrison Township base have served in every war since World War I, and have been deployed in support of the current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While the base is now home to nearly 3,000 personnel and 3,000 part-time National Guard and Reserve personnel every branch of the military, along with Homeland Security and TACOM, the future of some of the Air National Guard aircraft is in question.
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The Air Force has proposed to remove 24 A-10 Warthog fighter planes from Selfridge, while adding four KC-135 refueling aircraft. While the proposal is currently being debated in Congress, Chesterfield Township Board members recently urging legislators to oppose personnel and equipment cuts to the Michigan Air National Guard in a resolution adopted unanimously during Monday night’s meeting.
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