KANDAHAR — A military board of inquiry examining the roadside bombing that killed diplomat Glyn Berry on Jan. 15 has wrapped up its investigation in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

They were there to determine whether improvements need to be made to equipment and or the way soldiers are trained to react to attacks.

Last week, a convoy carrying the five-member board was hit itself by a suicide bomber.

While the explosion could be heard kilometres away, a Canadian light armoured vehicle -- known as a LAV III -- struck by the bomber, was only slightly damaged. The board members themselves were in a different vehicle, but could feel the "concussion" impact of the bomb.

"In many ways this provided us with a good first hand look at an attack," says Major Yves Généreux. "We saw that the drills the soldiers went through worked very well and helped save lives."

One soldier was seriously injured in that attack. M. Cpl. Michael Loewen was rushed back to the main Canadian base with major damage to one of his arms, and was later flown to a U.S. medical hospital in Landstuhl, Germany for surgery.

Généreux says, in this case, a board of inquiry may look at ways to protect the limbs of soldiers travelling in armoured vehicles.

The board will travel next week to Edmonton, Alta., to complete their investigation of Berry's case. They will be interviewing eyewitnesses to the January attack. Most of the soldiers involved in the incident returned to Canada in late February.

In their investigation, the board will look at the size of the explosives used in both attacks. Engineers will try to determine if insurgents are increasing the size of their bombs.

"They could very well be testing us," says Généreux.

With more than 1,800 convoys to have travelled from the main Canadian Kandahar base, Généreux says the percentage of attacks is relatively small.

Board members hope their recommendations will help better protect troops in the future. The report will be completed in late spring. Recommendations will be given to military commanders.

Every year, military boards of inquiry typically investigate 60 to 70 cases. But with more than 2,200 Canadian troops now operating in Afghanistan, their workload is expected to increase.