Photographer Lori Nix hand-crafted dioramas are fictional scenes of a post-apocalyptic world in which plants and decay reclaim both grand and mundane structures. Each structure is built in Nix's living room and can take over half a year to build. Photo: Library, 2007. Photographer Lori Nix says this is the most popular image she has made for this project that she calls “The City”. (Photo by Lori Nix)

A rainbow is seen near a cloud south of Corvallis, Ore., Monday, May 19, 2014. (Photo by Andy Cripe/AP Photo/The Corvallis Gazette-Times)

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.

Tank crew standing in front of M-4 tank, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, June, 1942. (Alfred Palmer/OWI/LOC)

The moon is seen in its waxing gibbous stage as it rises behind the helicopter from the original Batman television show, which people can ride at the New Jersey State Fair, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. The moon, which will reach its full stage on Sunday, is expected to be 13.5 percent closer to earth during a phenomenon known as supermoon. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

A student of the Orchestra of Recycled Instruments of Cateura holds an instrument made from recycled material by craftsman Nicolas Gomez, in Cateura, near Asuncion, May 9, 2013. The orchestra is the brainchild of its conductor Favio Chavez, who wanted to help the children of garbage pickers at the local landfill, and the instruments are made from salvaged materials by craftsman Gomez. The orchestra now involves 30 schoolchildren who have toured countries in Latin America, North America and Europe to play music ranging from Beethoven and Mozart to the Beatles and Paraguayan folk songs. (Photo by Jorge Adorno/Reuters)

Indian children work nearby to their parents at a construction project in front of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on January 30, 2010 in New Delhi, India. The children accompany their parents to the work site, where if they are prepared to work, they will receive money for bread an milk and be provided with dinner by the contractor. The sheer scale of the project has drawn an enormous population of migrant workers from all over India.

Clown/comedian/filmmaker Pierre Etaix attends The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' Presents “Pierre Etaix: The Laughter Returns” at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)