Hungarian model Barbara Palvin arrives for the 2019 CFDA fashion awards at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City on June 3, 2019. (Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP Photo)

A dog and its owner perform a routine in the main arena on Day three of Crufts at the Birmingham NEC Arena on March 10, 2012 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Officers from the municipal authorities of Huaian city perform red songs at the Huaian Great Hall of the People on June 13, 2011 in Huaian, Jiangsu Province of China. This year's celebrations will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

DJ Deadmau5 arrives at Spike TV's “2011 Video Game Awards” at Sony Studios on December 10, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

A World War II re-enactor dressed as Red Army soldiers rests after a staged battle to mark the liberation of the city of Ostrava by Red Army from the Nazi invaders in 1945, Czech Republic, Thursday, April 30, 2015. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

American gymnast Nia Dennis attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage)

American singer Ashton Nicole Casey, better known as Ashnikko poses as she arrives for the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 18, 2020. (Photo by Simon Dawson/Reuters)

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.