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Selfridge Planning Process Takes 50-Year Look

  • Published
  • By TSgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. --  The Selfridge of 2060 will begin to take shape this year.

Military leaders at the nearly 100-year old air base near Detroit are developing a new master plan that will envision what Selfridge Air National Guard Base will look like 50 years into the future.

"The potential is very high," said Brig. Gen. Michael Peplinski, the 127th Wing commander. The 127th Wing, a component of the Michigan Air National Guard, is the host unit at the base. In total, Selfridge is home to 44 different Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Homeland Security and other federal, state, local and partner agencies.

"We don't want to leave any of our potential federal or federal-friendly partners out of this planning process," the general said.

Architect and engineering firm CH2MHill is in the process of putting together three proposed concept plans for the 3,000-plus acre Selfridge base. Those concepts are due to be delivered to Selfridge leaders March 18 for review and input from the base community and key neighboring partners, such as Macomb County. A final proposed plan is expected to be delivered to the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C. by late April.

Included in the planning process is a possible bike path, likely along the Lake St. Clair shore, along the eastern edge of the base, said Lt. Col. Mac Crawford, commander of the 127th Mission Support Group at Selfridge and a key participant in the planning process.

Part of the goal of the planning process, Peplinski said, is to streamline the process to allow military, federal and other like agencies to locate or expand their presence on the base. Selfridge is home to significant contingents from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Border Patrol and other organizations and each have been solicited for their input into the planning process.

"Selfridge is a complex base, which can present challenges, but also presents great opportunity," he said.

Selfridge has been in use as a military airfield since 1917, when it was first used as a training base for pilots in the opening days of World War I.