Center to be Collocated with DHS Components Currently Operating at Selfridge Air National Guard Base
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, secured $3 million to establish and operate a Northern Border Coordination Center to be collocated with existing DHS components that are currently operating out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base. These resources, which were included in the recent government funding legislation, will be used to kick start the center. The center is directed to support coordination across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and key partners to identify and address security needs along the entire Northern Border. Peters has also advanced bipartisan legislation in the Senate to further expand the operations and duties of the center.
“The federal funding I secured to establish a Northern Border Coordination Center will help the Department of Homeland Security prioritize the needs of the Northern Border and build on the critical role Selfridge Air National Guard Base plays in protecting our nation,” said Senator Peters. “The funding will help coordinate border security efforts across the Northern Border, and support personnel training and high-tech border security technology testing. I’ll continue working to ensure that Michigan and assets like Selfridge remain at the forefront of our nation’s homeland and national security missions.”
“Selfridge Air National Guard Base has been and will continue to be an integral part of our nation’s defense,” said Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel. “For more than 100 years this installation has been a model of collaboration and readiness protecting our nation at home and abroad. Locating the Northern Border Coordination Center at Selfridge is a testament to the base’s capabilities and the men and women who serve there. I want to thank Senator Peters for leading this effort, and we look forward to supporting the center in any capacity.”
“I applaud Senator Peters for his advocacy on this issue of Northern Border and national security,” said Candice Miller, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner and Honorary Commander of Selfridge Air National Guard Base. “This Northern Border Coordination Center based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be a welcome addition to the various components at Selfridge and focus needed attention to security at our Northern Border. Our community looks forward to working with Senator Peters to continue this effort.”
The provision and resources included in the broader funding legislation direct the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to stand up the Northern Border Coordination Center to be collocated with an existing U.S. Border Patrol sector headquarters, the U.S. Border Patrol Northern Border Coordination Center, an Air and Marine Operations Branch, and a U.S. Coast Guard air station, and other existing DHS activities. The center will serve as a coordination mechanism for implementing, evaluating, and updating the Northern Border Strategy, and any successor strategy. It also requires the center to serve as a training location, act as a testing ground for border security technology, and support counter-unmanned aircraft systems along the Northern Border.
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