Joint Reserve Intelligence Center Dedicated At Selfridge

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SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. --  More than 250 National Guard, Reserve, active-duty and civilian intelligence professionals are now working in a newly expanded and renovated facility in Motown.

The Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA's) Detroit Joint Reserve Intelligence Center (JRIC) held its rededication ceremony Sept. 6 at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in suburban Detroit, Michigan. Rear Admiral Gordon Russell, commander of the Information Dominance Corps Reserve Command, hosted the event, which was attended by numerous dignitaries and guests, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Dennis Biddick and Captain Douglas Upchurch, director of DIA's Joint Reserve Intelligence Program.

The ceremony was the culmination of a multiyear project to provide not only Selfridge Air National Guard Base but also the greater Metro Detroit area with a state-of-the-art facility enabling military intelligence professionals to conduct training and operations.

Captain Upchurch stated, "DIA's JRIC Detroit provides direct support to the greater Intelligence Community for training, exercises, and real-world operational missions around the globe. The JRIC provides robust and essential support to the warfighter through remote intelligence support and a world-class training facility that prepares service members for mobilizations and deployments."

The reconstruction and renovation project expanded the facility from about 6,000 to 26,000 square feet, a fourfold increase in workspace and a tremendous increase in building capacity. The project's completion also marks the beginning of a far-ranging opportunity for more than 250 military intelligence professionals to support a wide array of missions and projects buttressing requirements and objectives around the world.

During the ceremony, Biddick and Russell praised the joint nature of the environment at Selfridge, where all components of the U.S. Armed Forces and a number of Dept. of Homeland Security agencies, operate on one base. The host unit at Selfridge is the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard.

"This building and its infrastructure now becomes another member of the Selfridge team, building on the multi-mission efficiencies that exist at the base," said Russell. "If there is a more joint facility in America, I'd like to see it."

Biddick also praised the "Team Selfridge" environment at the base, noting that during his visit to Selfridge he was able to visit the JRIC, Naval Operations Support Center Detroit, a Navy Seabees unit and Marine Corps Reservists, all on one base.

"This base is the epitome of jointness," Biddick said.

Comprised of approximately 1,600 personnel and flying both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the KC-135 Stratotanker, the 127th Wing supports Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command and Air Force Special Operations Command by providing highly-skilled Airmen to missions domestically and overseas. The 127th Wing is the host unit at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which is also home to units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection.