Michigan congressional delegation urges Air Force to pick Selfridge for F-35A base

Members of the Michigan congressional delegation are urging the new Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett to select Selfridge Air National Guard Base to host the Air National Guard’s next F-35A operational base.

In a letter to Barrett, 14 members of Congress from Michigan highlighted the features that would make Selfridge an ideal spot for the base – including its outstanding airmen, modern facilities, unique training range, and low cost of conversion.

“Macomb County, Michigan’s residents and elected officials welcome a potential F-35 mission and have consistently offered community support to Selfridge and its tenants. Selfridge offers the capabilities and facilities ideally suited to sustain F-35 operations,” the lawmakers wrote.

They also pointed the community opposition to hosting the F-35A mission at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, Wisconsin, which is one of the Air Force’s two designated “preferred” locations.

“We understand that last month, the City of Madison submitted a letter with 22 pages of public comments, tasking the Air Force with 25 questions to be resolved in the Final EIS, and requesting that if those questions are not satisfactorily answered, you, as Secretary of the Air Force, reconsider listing Truax Field as a preferred location. In addition to numerous complaints about the F-35 mission from individual Madison residents, the Madison Common Council also passed a resolution raising the community’s substantial concerns with basing the F-35A mission at Truax Field,” the lawmakers wrote.

Ultimately, the Air Force will select two locations for the F-35As. The final decision will be made following the completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).