Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.

[3] 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.

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.

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.

[8] 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 640 acres (260 ha) 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.

Some of these students, a few of them from Mount Clemens area, were given a few flights and then, within two weeks, whisked overseas for advanced training and to meet the enemy.

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.

[8] 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.

Finally reduced to a staff of only 14 civilians, Selfridge Field for all practical purposes ceased to exist for government officials.

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.

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.

[14] 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.

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.

[10] Selfridge was a World War II army airfield of the First Air Force and the location where Colonel Lawrence P. Hickey[15] headed a cadre that organized the VIII Interceptor Command on 19 January 1942 (transferred to Charleston AAF on 13 February, arrived RAF High Wycombe on 12 May).

Following a reprimand of base commander Colonel William Boyd for segregating blacks, the Group relocated "without any prior warning or notification to its personnel[21] to Godman Field, Kentucky, on 5 May 1944.

[23] The units' Selfridge aircraft were F-51 Mustangs (439th, 1953–4), Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars (439th 1953–6, 56th), F-84 Thunderstreaks (439th), North American F-86D Sabres (1st), and F-102 Delta Daggers (1st).

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.

[28] 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.

[22] 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.

NAF Detroit was established as a tenant activity at Selfridge ANGB in 1969 following the disestablishment of Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan.

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-65D version of this aircraft in search and rescue, maritime safety, and other homeland security/homeland defense missions.

Other activities located at Selfridge include STARBASE, an Air National Guard initiative that engages in activity-based science and math lessons.

The United States Border Patrol Detroit Sector headquarters is located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

In March 2011, the United States Customs and Border Protection "formally opened its new Operational Integration Center on Selfridge".