About a month before he died in the deadliest day of fighting for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, Pte. Kevin Kennedy spoke about the excitement of being part of Operation Achilles, a major offensive to drive the Taliban out of Helmand province.

Kennedy, of St. Lawrence, Nfld., could barely contain the rush of adrenaline as he was interviewed by the Canadian Press in early March. 

"Everyone is really pumped here this morning," Kennedy said. 

"We came here. We've trained for years, and we are finally going to go out and do our job, and we are ready to do it." 

Kennedy, 20, was one of four soldiers from the Gagetown, N.B.-based 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment, who died in a roadside bomb attack Sunday in southern Afghanistan. The other dead men were identified as Sgt. Donald Lucas, 31, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, and Pte. David Robert Greenslade, 20.

Also killed was Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix, 24, a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers, and a sixth soldier who was not identified at the request of his family.

New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham extended his sympathies Sunday to the families of the soldiers, saying it was a sad day for the province and the country.

The military has not released details of exactly where the soldiers were at the time of the attack or what they were doing.

But Operation Achilles was to eventually involve 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan soldiers — one of the largest multinational forces fielded in a single operation in Afghanistan. Canada's Leopard tanks were to have been deployed for action. 

At the time, the military said a force of more than 200 soldiers from the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group would be supporting the offensive by setting up a blocking position in the Maywand district just inside the northwestern border of Kandahar province. 

The province, where Canada's 2,500 troops operate, is adjacent to Helmand in southern Afghanistan.                                   

Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, a senior Canadian commander, said at the time that the Gagetown-based soldiers were to be tasked with preventing Taliban militants from retreating through the region. 

They were also to disrupt bands of local insurgents, including drug lords who control the opium trade. 

"I don't expect to see and I hope not to see any fighting by Canadians in the Maywand district," Grant said.