The Incirlik Air Base
in Turkey published the interview last month on its website, which recently
decided to feature new faces to the base as an introduction to others.On Sept.
15, the focus was on U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Kersten, who serves with
the 39th Medical Support Squadron. The unit provides “preventative and clinical
health and wellness services for U.S. and coalition forces.”Is there a leader
from your career that influenced you the most?” he was asked during the
interview. “If so, who, and how did they affect the way you lead?”“There’s no
ONE in particular, Kersten responded. “As a Christian, my example is to be like
Christ. He is my guide and affects all of my decisions. He teaches to do all
things as unto the Lord and I believe this is synonymous with integrity first
and excellence in all we do.”But Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious
Freedom Foundation (MRFF) took issue with Kersten’s response and wrote to his
superiors to demand that he be punished. Weinstein asserted that Kersten had
violated military rules with his reply, and said that it caused him to wonder
if Kersten would be biased against those of other faiths.“Lt. Col. Kersten
willfully and definitively violated AFI 1-1 with his sectarian Christian
proselytizing statement. He has proclaimed to the entire Incirlik Air Base
community that ALL of his decisions are based upon his Christian faith,” he
wrote. “Moreover, and perhaps even more outrageously, he claims that his
exclusivist Christian faith is synonymous with two of the three Air Force
official core values.” He got a reply from Col. John Walker soon thanking
Weinstein for his correspondence, but advising that the Air Force protects
service members’ rights to practice their religion.“The Air Force places the
highest value on the rights of its personnel in matters of religion by its
members,” he wrote. “Our Airmen are sworn to protect our rights and liberties
as Americans, including the right of all Airmen to practice their religious
faith of to practice no faith at all.”