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.

In this photo posted on Twitter, Sunday, May 3, 2015, and provided by NASA, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti sips espresso from a cup designed for use in zero-gravity, on the International Space Station. Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman in space, fired up the first espresso machine in space, which uses small capsules, or pods, of espresso coffee. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)

A group of 1000 customers receive a facial massage at a sports centre in Jinan, Shandong province, China, May 4, 2015. A group of 1000 women were given a 30 minutes facial beauty treatment together on Monday that achieved a Guinness record for the largest group of people having beauty treatment in the same location, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Ukrainians wearing traditional costumes sing Kolyadky or Ukrainian Christmas Carols, as a part of Orthodox Christmas in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, January 7 2016. Orthodox Christians mark their traditional Christmas Day Jan. 7, with many ancient symbolic events. (Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov/AP Photo)

Conservation staff members move the eight-years-old White Rhino Seha into a truck in Johannesburg, South Africa, 28 July 2017. Seha is the only survivor after five rhinos where poached on the same game farm. South Africa has the world's largest population of Rhinos in the world. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/EFE)

Firefighters rescue Dylan, a catalina macaw, from a tree in the Manhattan borough in New York on March 23, 2021. The bird escaped as he was being brought to see a vet by his owner. (Photo by Bill Swersey/Reuters)

A CatCon attendee poses at CatCon LA 2023 at Pasadena Convention Center on August 06, 2023 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sarah Morris/Getty Images)

A tea garden worker plucks tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. Unrest is brewing among Assam's so-called Tea Tribes as changing weather patterns upset the economics of the industry. Scientists say climate change is to blame for uneven rainfall that is cutting yields and lifting costs for tea firms. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)