KNIGHTDALE, NC, US
U.S. Air Force
Technical Sergeant, 31ST CIVIL ENGINEER SQUADRON, AVIANO AB, ITALY
01/19/2010, KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
A Coats, North Carolina, family is mourning the loss of their son who died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Adam Kenneth Ginett, 29, was killed Tuesday near Kandahar Airfield as the result of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device, a news release from the Department of Defensesaid.
He was assigned to the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron out of Aviano Air Base, Italy, where he worked as an explosive ordinance disposal expert. He was also a master sniper.
Technical Sergeant Ginett’s is the son of James and Christina Kazakavage and brother of Sarah Kazakavage, all of Coats.
A family friend said Technical Sergeant Ginett’s family was notified of his death Tuesday and flew out Wednesday morning to retrieve his body from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
He is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The date and time of his burial and a memorial service at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Fuquay-Varina will be announced. Technical Sergeant Ginett, of Knightdale, joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18 after graduating from East Wake High School in 1998. He went on to earn two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in criminal justice and political science.
The Daily Record featured Technical Sergeant Ginett and his family in September 2007 after the then Staff Sergeant Ginett received the U.S. Army Bronze Star for his work as a team leader for Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) with the 20th Civil Engineering Squadron during Operation Andar in Afghanistan.
Having already served three tours of duty in Iraq, Technical Sergeant Ginett was on his second tour of duty to Afghanistan.
In addition to clearing thousands of roadside bombs and destroying hundreds of thousands of enemy weapons on the battlefield, stateside, Technical Sergeant Ginett also led units charged with sweeping the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, and Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, for bombs in preparation for the 2008 Democratic and Republican Conventions.
Technical Sergeant Ginett is survived by his parents and sister; his maternal grandparents James and Mary Haslam of Cary and paternal grandfather Joe Kazakavage of Port St. Lucie, Florida.