Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

Boys dressed in historical uniforms stand before a military parade in Red Square in Moscow November 7, 2014. The parade marked the anniversary of the 1941 parade when Soviet soldiers marched through the Red Square towards the front lines of World War Two. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Clay Lipsky has created a great series called Atomic Overlook. The project takes terribly boring scenic shots and combines them with some exciting nuclear testing. “Tourists will line up for anything and I always found humor in vacation destinations that are nothing but a bunch of people looking into a great abyss”, he says. “I understand the allure of a beautiful landscape, but as the world’s population grows so do the lines to view the “nothingness”. Atomic Overlook flips the script on that and gives new purpose to those suntanned masses”. (Photo by Clay Lipsky)

People view artist David Byrne's installation "Tight Spot" beneath Manhattan's High Line park on September 27, 2011 in New York City. The 48-foot by 20-foot inflatable globe is squeezed beneath the steel support framework of the High Line and is accompanied with a rumbling audio soundtrack created by distorting Byrne's voice. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Dionte Gilbert (84) leaps across the finish line against Seth Hirschi, back, during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, August 20, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo)

Rows of blossoming peach trees line the fields of Aitona, in the province of Lleida, north eastern Spain, on March 22, 2025. Every year in March the thousands of hectares of blossoming peach trees create a sort of nature tourism with hundreds of people visiting the area to take in the colorful blossoms. (Photo by Josep Lago/AFP Photo)

A powerful tornado with winds of up to 134mph was captured in Nebraska on June 16, 2025 by a British storm chaser. The tornado moved south for three miles on Monday and tore down power lines, but no injuries were reported. (Photo by Jam Press/David Mayhew Photography)

(L-R) Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner attend The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)