Harrison Township — Congressman John James toured part of his district in a Coast Guard helicopter last week while visiting Selfridge Air National Guard Base to discuss operations with Coast Guard command and pledge to fight for a better quality of life for service members.
James has been a vocal proponent for expanding operations at Selfridge, which is in Harrison Township on the shores of Lake St. Clair.
As Enjoyer wrote earlier this year, the congressman was part of Michigan’s delegation pushing for expanding operations at the base. Days later, President Donald Trump announced that a F-15EX fighter fleet would be assigned to Selfridge.
Now James, who is running to be Michigan’s next governor, has turned his sights toward the other branches embedded within Selfridge, including the Coast Guard’s Air Station Detroit. The Coast Guard received funding for new MH-60 helicopters in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last month.
The upgrades are necessary, James argues, because the current helicopters are reaching the end of their lifespan, and James knows helicopters, given his combat experience flying the fearsome AH-64 Apache over Iraq.
Lt. Christina Silva with Air Station Detroit says that the new helicopters require more space in the hangars and the runway. It means that the Coast Guard cutters need to be able to accommodate the large helicopters as well.
It’s not just the infrastructure, though. James wants to invest in the people who fly the helicopters and maintain them. He says that there are more opportunities to provide better healthcare and housing for workers in remote areas.
I heard him giving out his phone number to uniformed men on the flight line after the helicopter flight, promising to help them.
It’s hard enough to be a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard, even with the good benefits.
Lt. Silva said she had just finished a 24-hour shift. She only slept four hours the night before and was called out to Lake Erie because someone said they saw a lifejacket floating in the water. That’s what the Coast Guard does: They come looking when nobody else will.
It’s not for the faint of heart. Lt. Silva said they use the term “helmet fire” to describe what it’s like to have the radio pulling your attention in multiple directions while scouting open waters in possible inclement weather.
It takes conditioning, practice, and a special something to thrive in that kind of chaotic environment. James said that he still sees his role as that of a helicopter pilot, to provide support to those on the ground to execute their mission every single day.
“Today’s flight was a perfect analogy for what I believe my purpose is and my role, now and in the future, which is to help use the perspective and the resources that I have to help make people’s lives better in the state of Michigan,” James said.
You could tell the congressman had a great time back in the air by the smile he wore along with the green flight suit and blaze-orange life jacket. He knew instantly upon takeoff that it was a European chopper, he said.
It’s because it hangs right-wheel low, he explained. American-designed choppers like the Apache hang left-wheel low.
“There is no substitute for experience,” James said. “Experience matters in leadership.”
Brendan Clarey is deputy editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
