Memorial Day 2025

Captain Tim Kinsella, Jr., USN (Retired) 

Captain Tim “Lucky” Kinsella, USN enlisted in the U. S. Navy 1989, and subsequently attended the United States Naval Academy. He graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science, was commissioned, then went on to become a Naval Aviator.

During a distinguished naval career that saw him deployed to the Middle East, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Western Pacific, Captain Kinsella served as squadron commander, White House Liaison to the Secretary of the Navy, Flag Aide to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare, he served with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, and served as a NATO Defense Planner in Mons, Belgium. Tim’s last active duty assignment was as Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station, Pensacola. 

Tim led the Air Station during a terrorist attack that claimed three lives and wounded nine others, and he led it through a catastrophic hurricane. Under his command, the installation maintained its operational viability during a global pandemic and was awarded the U. S. Navy’s Installation Excellence Award as the top large installation across the entire service.

After retiring from the Navy, Captain Kinsella was the founding Executive Director of the Center for Leadership at the College of Business at the University of West Florida. He now serves as the City Administrator for the City of Pensacola. In that capacity, he oversees the City government’s departments, including the airport and Port of Pensacola.