Selfridge Air Force Base

Inside a Flyover: Selfridge 'Hogs Support Memorial Day Observances

Michigan Air National Guard pilot 1st Lt. Brett DeVries will participate in about a dozen or so parades on Memorial Day. If you see him, be sure to wave.

He’ll be the one driving the Warthog.

DeVries and other pilots and Airmen of the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be giving up part of their holiday time on Memorial Day, as A-10 attack aircraft from the base fly over about two dozen parades and community gatherings.

“You can easily see the people down along the parade route,” DeVries said. “Being a person who grew up in this area, I look forward to being able to fly over our local communities and be part of Memorial Day right here at home.”

DeVries is a pilot with the 107th Fighter Squadron, part of the 127th Wing at Selfridge. The squadron flies the distinctively shaped A-10 Thunderbolt II, more popularly known as the Warthog. The ’Hogs are specially designed for air-to-ground combat, a mission in high demand in today’s world environment. They are the only aircraft currently in the U.S. Air Force inventory to carry the “A” designator, for “attack.”

“I think people want to see the military on Memorial Day. It really is what it is all about,” said 1st Lt. Russ Overton, another A-10 pilot at Selfridge.

According to Department of Defense policy, the military considers requests for flyovers of gatherings in honor of certain patriotic holidays, including Memorial Day, July 4 and Veterans Day. The policy is designed to encourage the advancement of aviation and contribute to the public knowledge of Armed Forces aviation equipment and capabilities.

DeVries, who works as the scheduling officer for the 107th, said Selfridge aircraft will be in the air for a couple of hours on Memorial Day. Maintenance and other support personnel will begin prepping the aircraft at least two hours prior to flight time and then spend another two hours or so with the aircraft after they land to “put them to bed.” More than three dozen Airmen will be called in on what would normally be a holiday day off to perform the necessary duties to launch, fly and recover the aircraft. That’s not counting those who would normally have to be on duty at the base, such as security personnel and others.

Thomas takes over at Selfridge - macombdaily.com

Pelinski's five-plus years at the helm also saw numerous changes, developments and incidents at the base: brief presidential visits; a major 2006 speech by Vice President Dick Cheney; two complex transitions to new aircraft; the creation of a state-of-the-art border protection center by the Department of Homeland Security; a Pentagon plan to open up the base to private developments, including factories, apartments and military retiree housing; the reversal of that private development plan; the haggling involved in getting approval to allow Macomb County's extensive bike path to pass through the base along the lakefront; the killing by guards of a speeding driver who broke through the gates; and even an outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease that caused several weeks of tension on the base last year.

Selected as the 127th Air Refueling Group commander in 2005, Thomas oversaw the Selfridge unit's transition from the C-130 airlift missions to the KC-135 refueling missions. The conversion concluded in 2010 after four major "command inspections" with outstanding results. In January of this year, he was named the 127th Wing's vice commander, a position he held until Peplinski's retirement. Peplinski is retiring after more than 32 years of combined service in the Air Force and what he often referred to as his "Hometown Air Force" — the Michigan Air National Guard. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Peplinski is a command pilot with more than 3,200 hours of flight time in the F-16 Falcon. Peplinski is also qualified as a KC-135 pilot. In 2004, Peplinski served as the in-country commander during a deployment of Selfridge airmen and F-16 aircraft to Iraq. Upon his return from Iraq in 2005, Peplinski was named base commander and handed the leadership of the 127th Wing. Under Peplinski's command, in addition to the switch to KC-135s, the wing's 127th Operations Group simultaneously moved from F-16s to the A-10s, creating a whole new sound in the skies above the Lake St. Clair shoreline and the Mount Clemens area. Pelinski's five-plus years at the helm also saw numerous changes, developments and incidents at the base: brief presidential visits; a major 2006 speech by Vice President Dick Cheney; two complex transitions to new aircraft; the creation of a state-of-the-art border protection center by the Department of Homeland Security; a Pentagon plan to open up the base to private developments, including factories, apartments and military retiree housing; the reversal of that private development plan; the haggling involved in getting approval to allow Macomb County's extensive bike path to pass through the base along the lakefront; the killing by guards of a speeding driver who broke through the gates; and even an outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease that caused several weeks of tension on the base last year. As for Thomas, he has a long affiliation with the Air Force at Selfridge. After initially enlisting as a member of the Air Force Reserve at the base in 1976, he was commissioned in 1983 and flew C-130 Hercules aircraft with a combat rescue unit that was then stationed at the waterfront base. He transitioned into the Michigan Air National Guard in 1994. In 2004, he was the deployed commander of a C-130 squadron in Uzbekistan in support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Selected as the 127th Air Refueling Group commander in 2005, Thomas oversaw the Selfridge unit's transition from the C-130 airlift missions to the KC-135 refueling missions. The conversion concluded in 2010 after four major "command inspections" with outstanding results. In January of this year, he was named the 127th Wing's vice commander, a position he held until Peplinski's retirement. Peplinski is retiring after more than 32 years of combined service in the Air Force and what he often referred to as his "Hometown Air Force" — the Michigan Air National Guard. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Peplinski is a command pilot with more than 3,200 hours of flight time in the F-16 Falcon. Peplinski is also qualified as a KC-135 pilot. In 2004, Peplinski served as the in-country commander during a deployment of Selfridge airmen and F-16 aircraft to Iraq. Upon his return from Iraq in 2005, Peplinski was named base commander and handed the leadership of the 127th Wing. Under Peplinski's command, in addition to the switch to KC-135s, the wing's 127th Operations Group simultaneously moved from F-16s to the A-10s, creating a whole new sound in the skies above the Lake St. Clair shoreline and the Mount Clemens area.

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