Selfridge Air National Guard Base Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township , Michigan , near Mount Clemens . Selfridge Field was one of thirty - two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917 . Units and organizations . The host organization is the 127th Wing ( 127 WG ) of the Michigan Air National Guard , but a variety of Air Force Reserve , Navy Reserve , Marine Corps , Army Reserve , Army National Guards and active duty Coast Guard units use the facility as well . In 1971 , Selfridge ANGB became the largest and most complex joint Reserves Forces base in the United States , a position it held until surpassed by NAS JRB Fort Worth ( former Carswell AFB ) in the late 1990s . " U . S . Army Garrison - Selfridge serves the Tank - automotive and Armaments Command ( TACOM ) supporting tank construction in the Detroit area . " Civil Air Patrol civilian organizations at Selfridge are the 176th Selfridge Composite Squadron and the Headquarters , Michigan Wing . Selfridge Military Air Museum . The on - base Selfridge Military Air Museum is operated by the Michigan Air Guard Historical Association , exhibits photos and artifacts of military aerospace history , and has an outdoor Air Park of over 30 aircraft . History . World War I . The origins of Selfridge Air National Guard Base date to 1916 when a large tract of land on Lake St . Clair , Michigan , was acquired by the Packard Motor Car Company at the urging of Packard president Henry B . Joy , who took a great interest in aviation and led the company to begin developing aircraft engines for use in aircraft engaged in World War I combat in Europe . In the spring of 1917 , lobbying began in Washington to locate a military airfield at the site of the Joy Aviation Field on Lake St . Clair . The United States had just officially entered World War I on 7 April . Proponents of the site pointed out the advantages of the field ' s proximity to the auto capital of the nation and the availability of the lake for practice bombing . In May 1917 , it was announced that Joy Aviation Field would be included as a training Camp as part of the expansion of the Air Service , becoming one of only nine military airfields in the country at the time . The United States Army leased the of land , and construction commenced immediately to provide the necessary road and rail access to the site . Within a month , the newspaper was reporting that 1 , 000 men were at work at the field constructing hangars , barracks , supply depots , machine shops and a school building . The name of the field had become Selfridge Field , in honor of the late Lt . Thomas E . Selfridge , who had perished in an airplane crash in 1908 , the first military fatality of powered flight . On 9 July , the first training aircraft , a Curtiss JN - 4 D arrived at the new airfield , and the base was gearing up to train men in flying , bombing , radio and photography for the war effort . The first pilots were members of the 8th and 9th Aero Squadron s , and Captain Byron Q . Jones was the first commander at Selfridge . Actual training of pilots began on 16 July 1917 , three months after war was declared . Some of these students , a few of them from Mount Clemens area , were given a few flights and then , within two weeks , were whisked overseas for advanced training and to meet the enemy . During the summer of 1917 , 72 men won aviator ratings and logged over 3 , 700 flying hours . From that time on , hundreds of young men passed through Selfridge Air Pilot School for the four weeks of training which qualified them for a commission . Then they were on their way as instructors to the front or to the other flying schools . being established throughout the country . Flying was considered impractical in Michigan during the winter months , so the student pilots were sent to Gerstner Field at Lake Charles , Louisiana , and to Chapman Field at Miami , Florida , and Selfridge was transformed into a mechanics school for the winter months . From this school , which lasted until the end of March 1918 , 700 qualified mechanics were graduated . Six squadrons from Kelly Field , Texas , were sent to Selfridge for study in the shops . The training center suffered an early setback in March 1918 , as the Clinton River flooded the entire site and all personnel were evacuated to schools and churches in nearby Mount Clemens . On 1 April 1 , 1918 preparations got underway for the opening of a new gunnery school . Instructors were borrowed from the French , British and Canadian flying corps . By July 1918 , Selfridge had reached its peak performance in gunnery training . Over 250 students were enrolled at one time , and on one occasion 52 planes were in the air over the field simultaneously . Classes were so filled that 150 Lewis air guns , 60 Lewis ground guns , 80 Marlin air guns , 90 camera guns and 10 aerial cameras were in use daily . By the end of World War I , the young base had 1 , 028 enlisted men and 200 officers . It had trained 72 pilots and 700 . mechanics , and 1 , 002 men had attended gunnery school . The 1918 Armistice with Germany ended World War I . The end of the war , however , produced some major changes . From a training field producing mechanics and gunners , Selfridge became a pursuit ( fighter ) field , but men who had enlisted for the duration of the war were being discharged , and no new students were being trained . Inter - War period . Beginning 27 June 1919 , Selfridge became the home of the 1st Pursuit Group , currently the oldest combat group in the Air Force . The group was organized in France during World War I and like many others , was demobilized after the war then re - created in 1919 . It remained based at Selfridge for approximately 20 years . Many notable names are included in the group ' s roster including George H . Brett , James " Jimmy " Doolittle , Carl A . Spaatz , Curtis LeMay , Frank O . Hunter , Emmett " Rosie " O ' Donnell , Earle E . Partridge , Paul Wurtsmith and over 100 men who rose to the rank of Air Force general ( " Home of Generals " ) . ( Lieutenant LeMay was fined $ 50 for flying a biplane through Selfridge Hangar # 6 . ) The uncertain future of Selfridge Field , however , caused the 1st Pursuit Group to be moved to Kelly Field , Texas , shortly after its return . On 28 August 1919 , following an order from Washington , all but 40 men left for Texas airfields . Finally reduced to a staff of only 14 civilians , Selfridge Field for all practical purposes ceased to exist for government officials . Until 1921 , the government leased Selfridge Field from Henry B . Joy . That year , Joy offered to sell the property for $ 190 , 000 , a price government appraisers felt was too high . But when the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee pointed out the field ' s proximity to the mechanical and industrial centers of Detroit , the price was paid . The field sprang back to life on 1 July 1922 , when the 1st Pursuit Group , which had gone from Kelly Field to Ellington Field outside Houston , Texas , in 1921 , returned to make Selfridge its home for almost the next 20 years . In 1922 , Selfridge was declared a permanent installation under command of Maj . Carl " Tooey " Spaatz , who later became Chief of Staff for the Air Force . Air races at Selfridge from 1922 through the 1930s included the first John Mitchell Trophy Race ( named for John L . Mitchell and last held in 1936 at Selfridge ) , the Pulitzer Trophy Race , and the Curtiss Trophy Race and Boeing Trophy . Charles A . Lindbergh was assigned to Selfridge in 1927 , returned in July 1927 ( his transatlantic aircraft , Spirit of St . Louis , was escorted by 22 1st Pursuit Group planes ) and returned again 10 November 1927 , to become a member of the 1st Pursuit Group and complete his reserve training . In 1925 , planes equipped with ice skids left Selfridge for Camp Skeel in Oscoda , Michigan to determine the usefulness of airplanes in harsh winter . Squadron commander Thomas Lamphier declared the test a success and proclaimed that similarly planes could be used to in Arctic regions . The U . S . Navy came to Selfridge in 1927 when Torpedo Squadron 31 ( VT - 31 ) was briefly assigned to the base . The squadron had only one aircraft , a Consolidated NY - 1 , which was used for training the squadron ' s Naval Air Reserve pilots . The squadron left before the end of the year , moving to a hangar in downtown Detroit . Naval Aviation would return to Selfridge in 1969 following the closing of Naval Air Station Grosse Ile and the establishment of Naval Air Facilty Detroit . During the 1930s and 1940s , squadrons " from Selfridge [ frequently ] performed maneuvers over Detroit , [ causing delight to ] local citizens " . In 1935 , Selfridge became part of the top - level General Headquarters ( GHO ) , Air Force , along with five other strategically located installations : Mitchel Field in New York , Langley Field in Virginia , Barksdale Field in Louisiana , March Field in California and Hamilton Field in California . A large expansion program was launched in 1939 to train four new pursuit groups at Selfridge for eventual assignment to other GHQ fields . Many of the temporary frame buildings still in use today were built at that time , when a $ 13 . 5 million construction program was started at Selfridge . The outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 again brought many changes to Selfridge Field . The 17th Pursuit Squadron , a member of the 1st Pursuit Group since June 1918 , was reassigned to the Philippines . More Selfridge pilots left for the Pacific in a surprise move early in 1940 , when 40 pilots and mechanics volunteered to serve with Gen . Claire Chennault and his Flying Tigers . They left for Rangoon early in the summer . World War II . Selfridge was a World War II army airfield of the First Air Force and the location where Colonel Lawrence P . Hickey headed a cadre that organized the VIII Interceptor Command in 19 January 1942 ( transferred to Charleston AAF on 13 February , arrived RAF High Wycombe on 12 May ) . On 29 March 1943 , the 332d Fighter Group of the Tuskegee Airmen completed its move to Selfridge . The commander of the Tuskegee ' s European and Mediterranean operations was Colonel Benjamin O . Davis Jr . , the first black officer to graduate from West Point in the 20th century , and later the first black Air Force general . Scandal hit Selfridge on 5 May , 1943 when the commander Colonel William Colman was charged with shooting Private William MacRae , a black chauffeur who was assigned to drive him . Early reports stated that the incident occurred because Colman ' s regular driver was off - duty and a dispatcher was unaware of his standing order that he not have a black driver . Following the incident , accusations of several other improper occurrences at the base including misappropriation of government property , procurement of unlawful transfers and exchange of goods for transfers . Colman was found guilty of careless use of firearms after a court martial and demoted to captain . However , he was acquitted of 23 other charges that included authorizing illegal transfers , accepting bribes and theft of government property . The 477th Composite Group was formed at Selfridge on 15 January 1944 to train Tuskegee Airmen with Republic P - 47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B - 25 Mitchell bombers . Following a reprimand of the Selfridge AAF commander for segregating blacks , the Group relocated " without any prior warning or notification to its personnel ) to Godman Field , Kentucky , on 5 May 1944 . United States Air Force . After World War II Selfridge expanded to its present size of , and in 1947 the Selfridge Army Air Base was renamed Selfridge Air Force Base . The base grew steadily and soundly , acquiring impressive buildings and long concrete strips . In 1950 , Headquarters for the Tenth Air Force , which was in charge of all Air Reserve records for a 13 - state area in the Midwest , moved to Selfridge . It recalled and trained Air Reservists , and as an administrative group , the Tenth was the largest of the tenant units at Selfridge . From 1947 – 1970 the base hosted 3 successive Cold War aircraft units : the 56th Fighter Wing ( 28 July 1947 – 1952 ) , which conducted the first west - to - east jet fighter transatlantic crossing ( US to Scotland via Greenland , 1948 ) ; the 4708th Defense ( later Air Defense ) Wing from 1952 - 1956 ; the 439th Fighter - Bomber Wing ( 1952 – 7 ) ; and the 1st Fighter Wing ( Air Defense ) from 1956 – 1970 . The units ' Selfridge aircraft were F - 51 Mustang s ( 439th , 1953 - 4 ) , Lockheed P - 80 Shooting Star s ( 439th 1953 - 6 , 56th ) , F - 84 Thunderstreak s ( 439th ) , North American F - 86D Sabre s ( 1st ) , and F - 102 Delta Dagger s ( 1st ) . In April 1954 , the Selfridge ' s 13th Fighter - Intercepter Squadron of the 4708th Air Defense Wing won the Eastern Air Defense Force rocket gunnery championship ; and on 10 May 1956 , a Selfridge F - 86D accidentally fired 22 Mighty Mouse rocket while on the ground . In November 1957 , Air Defense Command ( ADC ) assumed control of Selfridge AFB . In the fall of 1959 , the inactivation of Tenth Air Force began , and the \ as completed by July 1960 . At that time , the 5th Air Force Reserve Region was established at Selfridge . Also added as a tenant in July was the 4045th Air Refueling Wing , Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . On May 8 , 1964 , disaster struck the area north of the base . A tornado cut a wide swath along the shores of Lake St . Clair , causing some damage to the base and bringing injury , death and destruction to the local area . The base was quick to render aid to its distressed neighbors , providing emergency medical care , sending vehicles to help clear away the debris and furnishing emergency shelters for those made homeless by the storm . In 1965 , the Strategic Air Command announced that the 4045th Air Refueling Wing was to be discontinued beginning in 1966 . In the continually changing pattern of uses of the Selfridge facility , plans were announced for the activation of the U . S . Coast Guard Air Station , Detroit , at Selfridge . A new Wing Commander , Col . Kenneth E . Rosebush , also arrived in August from Headquarters , Pacific Command . In July , 1966 , the Coast Guard moved to Selfridge Air Force Base as a tenant . From 1950 – 1974 , the Selfridge AFB radar station , including a Missile Master Army Air Defense Command Post after 1960 , provided ground - controlled interception coverage for interceptor aircraft and surface - to - air missiles . Selfridge was the 1950 location of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery ( HHB ) 28th Air Defense Artillery Group for the Army ' s Detroit Defense area . Beginning in 1955 , the base also had Project Nike radars for dual launch sites on Selfridge AFB at with battery D - 14 in service until February 1963 and co - located battery D - 16 continuing until June 1971 . The " shared " Selfridge integrated fire control ( IFC ) area was at ( the 3d Battalion , 517th Artillery manned the Nike facilities . ) On 29 October 1969 , the Secretary of Defense announced Project 703 , a program calling for a reduction of military forces as a result of budgetary cuts . As a result , the 1st Fighter Wing was inactivated on 31 December , and a 33 - year chapter in the history of Selfridge came to an end . The 94th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron prepared to move to Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda , Michigan , and elements of the 1st Combat Support Group were re - designated the 4708th Air Base Group on 1 January 1970 . Michigan Air National Guard . The Michigan Air National Guard ' s 127th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing moved its entire operation from Detroit Metropolitan Airport near Romulus to Selfridge in December , 1970 . The 127th became the largest flying unit on the base , and Air National Guard jets dominated the Selfridge skies . On 1 July 1971 , Selfridge Air Force Base was transferred to the Michigan Air National Guard , becoming the first major active Air Force base to come under control of the Air National Guard . At Selfridge Air National Guard Base , the 127th Wing ( 127 WG ) is the host wing to more than 30 tenant units representing every branch of the military – active duty ( to include the Coast Guard ) , Reserve and National Guard . The U . S . Border Patrol and the U . S . Customs and Border Protection Northern Air and Marine Wing are also based at Selfridge . Collectively , these organizations comprise what is known " Team Selfridge , " one community with syngergistic goals and missions . The 127th Wing ( 127 WG ) of the Michigan Air National Guard is a combined Air Combat Command ( ACC ) and Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) gained organization that was established at Selfridge ANG Base on 1 April 1996 , by consolidating the former 127th Fighter Wing and the 191st Airlift Group . The flying units which previously flew the F - 16 Fighting Falcon and the C - 130 Hercules , converted their flying missions per 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission ( BRAC ) action . Today , the ACC - gained 107th Fighter Squadron flies the A - 10C Thunderbolt II , also known as the A - 10 " Warthog . " The AMC - gained 127th Airlift Group was renamed the 127th Air Refueling Group and its 171st Air Refueling Squadron now flies the KC - 135T Stratotanker . The 127th Wing is also home to the Air National Guard ' s 107th Weather Flight , which is operationally gained by the Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) . These specially trained Airmen collect weather data , develop forecasting products and direct forecasts to the warfighters on the ground , sometimes going ahead of a main operation to prepare soldiers with weather data for the success of the mission . Air Force Reserve Command . Pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure , 2005 , the Air Force Reserve Command ' s 927th Air Refueling Wing ( 927 ARW ) that was previously based at Selfridge was directed to transfer all of its 4x KC - 135T Stratotanker aircraft to the Michigan Air National Guard and relocate to MacDill AFB , Florida in August 2007 as verified by Selfridge ' s Public Affairs Office . At MacDill , the 927 ARW has become an Air Force Reserve " Associate " wing to MacDill ' s 6th Air Mobility Wing , with both organizations flying the KC - 135R PACER CRAG variant of the Stratotanker . Naval Air Facility Detroit . NAF Detroit was established as a tenant activity at Selfridge ANGB in 1969 following the disestablishment of Naval Air Station Grosse Ile , Michigan . NAF Detroit remained operational until 1994 , when it was closed and realigned due to BRAC action . An Echelon IV command of Naval Air Force Reserve , NAF Detroit hosted numerous Naval Reserve augmentation units supporting fleet commands and shore activities in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets , as well as three operational Reserve Force Aviation Squadrons ( RESFORONs ) : Fleet Composite Squadron TWELVE ( VC - 12 ) flying the A - 4F Skyhawk II , Patrol Squadron NINETY - THREE ( VP - 93 ) flying the P - 3B Orion , and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron SIXTY - TWO ( VR - 62 ) flying the C - 9B Skytrain II . NAF Detroit also hosted Marine Wing Support Group FORTY - SEVEN ( MWSG - 47 ) of the Marine Air Reserve ' s 4th Marine Aircraft Wing . On 15 July 2012 , Marine Wing Support Group FORTY - SEVEN ( MWSG - 47 ) will be deactivating from service . It is very rare that a unit deactivates . A ceremony will be also conducted on 15 July 2012 for Col . Hahn ' s retirement . VC - 12 was transferred to NAS Oceana , Virginia in 1975 and was redesignated as Fighter Composite Squadron TWELVE ( VFC - 12 ) in 1988 , where it currently flies the F / A - 18 Hornet as a Reserve adversary squadron . VP - 93 was disestablished on 30 September 1994 due to ( 1 ) retirement of the P - 3B from the U . S . Navy inventory and a transition to an all P - 3C force , ( 2 ) a reduction in active and Reserve VP squadrons as part of post - Cold War drawdown , and ( 3 ) BRAC action directing the closure of NAF Detroit and its realignment as Naval Air Reserve Center Detroit ( NAVAIRESCEN Detroit ) with no operational flying units or activities . VR - 62 was transferred in April 1994 to the former NAS South Weymouth , Massachusetts until that base ' s closure in September 1996 due to BRAC 1995 action . Concurrent with that move , the squadron also transitioned from the C - 9B to the C - 130T Hercules . Transferring to the former NAS Brunswick , Maine , subsequent BRAC action in 2008 direct NAS Brunswick ' s closure in May 2011 , resulting in VR - 62 being transferred again in 2010 to its current home station of NAS Jacksonville , Florida . NAF Detroit became NAVAIRESCEN Detroit on 1 October 1994 and remained as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB . It was renamed Navy Operational Support Center Detroit ( NOSC Detroit ) in 2006 and downgraded to an Echelon V command . Coast Guard Air Station Detroit . CGAS Detroit was established in 1966 as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB , operating the HH - 52A Sea Guard helicopter in the Great Lakes region . Air Station Detroit transitioned to the HH - 65A Dolphin in 1988 and continues to operate the MH - 65C version of this aircraft in search and rescue , maritime safety , and other homeland security / homeland defense missions . Other Uses . Other activities located at Selfridge include STARBASE , an Air National Guard initiative that engages in activity - based science and math lessons . The program uses an aviation theme to allow local children to excel , regardless of their economic situation . STARBASE traces its roots to the Air National Guard ’ s 127th Wing at Selfridge ANGB in 1991 and the Department of Defense became an official supporter of the STARBASE program in 1993 . In March 2011 , the United States Customs and Border Protection " formally opened its new Operational Integration Center on Selfridge " .