Grief is the watchword this weekend in Petawawa, where each of Canada's three most recent fallen soldiers in Afghanistan had trained.

While much of the base has emptied out for the holidays, those who remain have a heightened sense of emptiness after three more of their comrades make the final journey home.

Warrant Officer Gaetan Joseph Roberge and Sgt. Gregory John Kruse were killed Saturday after a bomb exploded while the two soldiers were on security patrol about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar city.

An Afghan policeman and interpreter were also killed in the blast, while three Canadian soldiers and a second interpreter were injured. The soldiers had been on a security patrol in the volatile Panjwaii district, where Canadian troops have repeatedly fought against Taliban gunmen.

Family of Roberge and Kruse were notified of their deaths on the same day as the body of Pte. Michael Freeman, who was killed in Kandahar on Friday, was taken aboard a military plane to be transported back to Canada.

Roberge, was a member of the Royal 22nd Regiment who was serving with the Irish Regiment of Canada in Sudbury. He was serving in Afghanistan to help train the country's national police force.

Kruse was from the 24 Field Squadron, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, based in Petawawa. He was serving as a member of 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.

Of the 106 Canadian soldiers killed to date in Afghanistan, more than one-third were based at CFB Petawawa. Top commanders say that when one of their own is lost, the focus of the entire base shifts from the mission to remembering those who gave their lives for it.

"These were three outstanding soldiers serving their country. They're going to be missed," said brigade commander Col. Dean Milner.

"My utmost priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen comrades."

Warrant Officer Roberge did the majority of his training at Petawawa, and Col. Milner described him as similar to crispy chicken: "tough on the outside, but very sensitive inside." Pte. Freeman had also been based there, and was called a tremendous young soldier with a large supply of focus and drive.

Sgt. Kruse, however, had settled in nearby Pembroke with his wife and three daughters. His friend Karl Penney called him "the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back.

"When my life was spinning out of control, he was the kind of guy who would say 'hey, slow it down, come and talk to me'."

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Natalie Johnson and files from The Canadian Press