2025 House Resolution 212

Whereas, The Selfridge Air National Guard Base located near Mount Clemens in Macomb County has been in operation since 1917 and maintains approximately 5,000 personnel. It is also home to the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard, which currently operates, among other things, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. The A-10 Thunderbolts at Selfridge were set to begin a multi year divestment in 2026; and

Whereas, As part of its 2026 budget plan, the United States Air Force announced that it was looking to retire all of its A-10 aircraft in fiscal year 2026, a significant acceleration of the previously outlined divestment schedule. However, the fighter mission set to replace the A-10 Thunderbolts at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the F-15EX fighters, are not set to arrive until 2028; and

Whereas, The early divestment of the A-10 Thunderbolt fleet could result in a significant and sizeable gap between the two fighter missions at Selfridge, putting workforce readiness in jeopardy as skilled and devoted pilot training, maintenance, and other staff could be reassigned elsewhere; and

Whereas, House Bill 3838 of the 119th Congress, which passed the United States House of Representatives in September 2025 and is entitled the “Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026,” addresses some of the concerns surrounding the early divestment of A-10 aircraft. Specifically, Section 143 proposes limitations on the ability of the Secretary of the Air Force to retire A-10 aircraft or decrease the total aircraft inventory of A-10s below 162 aircraft, the number currently in the Air Force fleet, except under limited circumstances. It also requires the Secretary of the Air Force to brief the Committees on Armed Services for both the Senate and House of Representatives regarding the status of A-10 aircraft inventory and the proposed plan for the divestment of such aircraft prior to fiscal year 2029. This briefing must include an explanation of how the Secretary plans to minimize adverse personnel impacts and scheduling gaps during the transition to a different aircraft mission; and

Whereas, Section 143 will help ensure a smooth transition between the two fighter missions at Selfridge Air National Guard Base without a significant or sizeable gap. Retaining the A-10 aircraft until a replacement mission is scheduled to arrive will ensure uninterrupted missions and maintain fighter capacity amid global instability; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the United States Congress to adopt the language of Section 143 of House Bill 3838 of the 119th Congress, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, to strengthen protections against the early retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fleet; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.