Gary Peters

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Gary Peters, D Michigan, a member of the Armed Services Committee, urged the Air Force to provide the necessary resources and attention to ensure the on-time delivery of the new F-15EX fighter jets to Selfridge Air National Guard Base. In a letter to U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, Peters called for expanded funding for the F-15EX training pipeline program, conducted primarily at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, where Selfridge’s current A-10 pilots will need to undergo transition training for the F-15EX mission. Peters underscored that well-resourced personnel training is essential to the timely F-15EX beddown and continued operational readiness at Selfridge.

“As Selfridge prepares to accept these brand-new F-15EX aircraft, timely training for its transitioning A-10 pilots is vital to ensuring on time F-15EX beddown,” Peters wrote. “As these skilled A-10 pilots transition to operating F-15EXs, they must undergo a rigorous training course at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina to ensure Selfridge’s skilled pilots can transition their current skills to these new airframes… As the Air Force balances the F-15EX training pipeline against other training and non-training needs, I strongly urge the Air Force to provide the proper resourcing and attention to the F-15EX training pipeline to ensure on time arrival of Selfridge’s F-15EXs in 2028.”

Peters also emphasized Selfridge’s strategic importance in defending our homeland and its highly experienced flight personnel, as well as Michigan’s world-class military training infrastructure.

“At the heart of Michigan’s defense footprint, Selfridge is a strategic location for border security and homeland defense. Its critical location responds to threats to our homeland coming from the north through Canada and the Great Lakes region,” said Senator Peters. “Selfridge’s unparalleled access to training ranges and airspace ensures relevant and applicable training for its pilots and maintainers. Annually, Michigan hosts Exercise Northern Strike, the largest reserve component, live-fire, joint and all-domain exercise in the continental United States.”

Peters has made supporting the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base a top priority. Prior to the F-15EX basing announcement last April, Peters sent a letter urging the Air Force to base a new fighter mission at Selfridge. Last year, Peters 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. Last March, he 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, Peters 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 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 in March 2024 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.