Dressed in traditional make-up and costume a woman participates in the celebration for the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 30, 2021. Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP Photo)

Aerial view of tourists in life vests and rubber rafts in the Grand Canyon of western Henan, Sanmenxia, China on August 5, 2017. (Photo by Imaginechina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Queen Elizabeth II (as Princess Elizabeth) writing at her desk in Windsor Castle, Berkshire. (Photo by Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images). 30th May 1944

Film actress Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) on a film set with her pet poodle, circa 1960. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Japan's delegation gather to sign the formal surrender document on the U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in a September 2, 1945 file photo. (Photo by Reuters/US Navy)

New electric cars for sale are seen parked at a distribution center of the Changan automobile company in southwestern China's Chongqing municipality on March 24, 2024. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

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.

A C-17 Globemaster III crew prepares an air refueling mission September 27, 2012, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew J. Bruch/U.S. Air Force photo)