Where is the Selfridge Air National Guard base located?”
Pumping fuel into a jet on the wing at 20,000 feet is pretty much routine for John Karns. “It’s just a typical day at the office,” said Karns, 50, of New Baltimore. A member of the Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing with the rank of master sergeant, Karns is a boom operator for the KC-135 Stratotanker, a sort of a flying gas station for jets. Karns’ job is hooking up the pump’s nozzle to other aircraft in midair. Advertisement On Wednesday morning, Karns’ “office” was traveling about 300 miles per hour and 20,000 feet over parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania in a training exercise. A handful of media representatives was along for the trip aboard one of the Stratotankers. The 127th Wing and the aircraft’s crew operate out of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township. Weekend event previewed The flight offered a preview of the Selfridge Air Show & Open House, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The show, which is held every two years, is the 127th Wing’s first since the
Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB (IATA: MTC, ICAO: KMTC, FAA LID: MTC) is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. The host organization is the 127th Wing (127 WG) of the Michigan Air National Guard, but a variety of Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army reservists and national guardsmen use the facility as well. In 1971, Selfridge ANG Base became the largest and most complex Reserves Forces base in the United States. It was named for Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, the first U.S. military officer to die in an aviation accident.
Charles E. Ramirez / The Detroit News Harrison Township — Pumping fuel into a jet on the wing at 20,000 feet is pretty much routine for John Karns. “It’s just a typical day at the office,” said Karns, 50, of New Baltimore. A member of the Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing with the rank of master sergeant, Karns is a boom operator for the KC-135 Stratotanker, a sort of a flying gas station for jets. Karns’ job is hooking up the pump’s nozzle to other aircraft in midair. Advertisement On Wednesday morning, Karns’ “office” was traveling about 300 miles per hour and 20,000 feet over parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania in a training exercise. A handful of media representatives was along for the trip aboard one of the Stratotankers. The 127th Wing and the aircraft’s crew operate out of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township.
