Gary and Karen Huffman of Conover, N.C., grieve the loss of their son, Army Spc. Jason Huffman, yesterday at their home. Jason Huffman, 22, was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee in Kirkuk, Iraq, his parents said. Four other Schofield Barracks soldiers were killed. AP Photo/ Hickory (N.C.) Record, Nathan W. Armes   Madden Courtesy The Times at Shreveport, La.   Castro Courtesy Pacific Daily News

Army Spec. Jason Huffman, just three weeks into his second tour of duty in Iraq, was leading a squadron of soldiers patrolling the streets of Kirkuk when the device went off, his family told the Hickory (N.C) Daily Record.

Huffman, 22, was leading a squadron of young men patrolling the streets of Kirkuk when the device went off, his family said.

"He knew he was up for a challenge," his father, Gary Huffman, told the Daily Record. "He told me, 'Dad, you should see those people, they need us there.' "

Huffman, 22, joined the Army in 2003. He served his first tour in Iraq in 2003-04, re-enlisted and served a year in Korea before returning to Iraq.

"He said it was his job, and he was there to do a job," said his mother, Karen Huffman.