Thank you, Pensacola: A letter from Capt. Tim Kinsella

To the People of Pensacola,

On behalf of the Naval Air Station Pensacola military and civilian community – thank you. Thank you for your bravery, thank you for your kindness, thank you for your understanding, and thank you for your love throughout these past weeks. Dec. 6, perhaps the darkest day in NAS Pensacola’s storied history, shook us to our very core.

The scenes we witnessed there will never leave us; moments of unconscionable tragedy contrasted with actions of unimaginable bravery and acts of pure kindness. As the brave men and women of our Naval Security Force and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office ran to confront danger on that early December morning, so you also ran, but toward a neighbor in need, and you haven’t left our side since. Every community in America should look toward Pensacola for inspiration, because you are the gold standard by which every community should be judged, and what every community should aspire to become.

We lost three Shipmates that morning, and we would have lost many more if not for the brave actions and the swift responses of our Naval Security Force, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and NAS Pensacola and Escambia County Fire and Emergency Services. If not for the lifesaving efforts and skill of the doctors and nurses of Baptist Hospital; if not for the selfless acts of the many bystanders who gave aid to the wounded; if not for the actions of our collective community, both inside and outside the fence line, we would be mourning the loss of many more indeed.

Fatal shooting: Four confirmed dead at NAS Pensacola, including shooter identified as Saudi national

Eight recover: All eight people injured in NAS Pensacola shooting released from hospital

First-hand account: 'He just shot through the door': Injured airman describes NAS Pensacola shooting

While that fact is small consolation to the families of Ensign Joshua Watson, Petty Officer Mohammed Haitham and Petty Officer Cameron Walters, and while no words may fully assuage their grief, I fervently hope that the knowledge that in life, as in death, their sons acted in the finest traditions of the Naval Service, and upheld the indomitable spirit of the American fighting man and woman that has sustained this great country since its very birth. May they continue to be an example of bravery and selfless sacrifice to us all.

In time, when the investigations are complete, when the news cycle has run its course, when the physical wounds have healed, and when the passage of time has eased the pain of spiritual wounds, only then will the stories be fully told, unfettered and without censorship. Not stories of terror or fear, but human stories of compassion, bravery and kindness in the most difficult and trying of circumstances. Stories of wounded comrades struggling to render aid to each other, of Shipmates protecting Shipmates with no regard to their own safety, of the countless numbers of law enforcement and emergency services personnel who raced to the scene to render aid, of blood banks overwhelmed with donors, of an embroidery shop who worked overtime to produce thousands of patches that became a symbol of our solidarity, or of a mural painted on a railway bridge within hours of the event that reflected the immense pain felt by us all.

]We who have chosen this life in service of our country expect there will be casualties. The very nature of our business makes it almost inevitable that we will either know someone or succumb to that eventuality ourselves. I myself have lost far too many friends, through both physical and spiritual wounds suffered in foreign arenas or in training. But to experience that loss here, under the leafy shade of the magnificent centuries-old live oak trees that breathed during the earliest days of western civilization in the Americas, who witnessed our fledgling Navy sail through Pensacola Pass for the first time, and who saw flimsy seaplanes skim over the blue waters of Pensacola Bay during the infant days of Naval Aviation; here where the likes of De Luna, Warrington, Mustin, Ellyson, Halsey, and McCain strolled the same sandy ground, to experience such loss here is still, for me, beyond belief.

But we must carry on. There is far too much at stake to allow ourselves to succumb to the paralyzing effects of fear or intimidation. I awoke this morning at my quarters on base to the sounds of aircraft engines in the pattern overhead, just as countless thousands have done since the Navy Yard became a Naval Aeronautical Station in 1914. I listened to colors this morning at 8 a.m., and was reminded that Old Glory has been hoisted over this ground since 1826.

Nothing is going to stop the steady march of our mission to train the men and women of Naval Aviation who may one day sail into harm’s way on our ships, stations and aircraft across the world. To do otherwise would be to do dishonor to our fallen shipmates. Yes, this terrible event rocked us to our core, but in the end, we are stronger for it. We are stronger as a community because during the darkest of days we stood by one another and weathered the storm, shoulder-to-shoulder, and arm in arm.

This base and this town are inextricably linked, and have been for almost 200 years. Our shared history and our shared future is the true source of our strength. We have marched together in good times and bad, and we will continue to march together in the days ahead. We are grateful for your partnership, but most importantly, we are grateful for your friendship. Together, we will always be Pensacola Strong!

Capt. Tim “Lucky” Kinsella is commanding officer of NAS Pensacola.