U.S. Park Police work to keep people away from the area surrounding the Washington Monument after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the east coast August 23, 2011 in Washington, DC. Police officers said that unidentified material had fallen off the Washington Monument as a result of the earthquake. All the monuments and buildings along the National Mall have been evacuated and closed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Standalone picture dated June 7th, 2022 shows Flt Lt Adam O’Hare rehearsing in the iconic Typhoon plane over Lincolnshire yesterday (Tues) as he trains for this summers airshows with vapour trails over the wing. The phenomenon is caused by low pressure areas created on the aircraft's skin and wings as it moves through moist air. As the pressure drops so does the temperature, and if the temperature reaches the saturation point, water vapor is created. (Photo by Claire Hartley/Bav Media)

Drone view of vehicles after part of the ceiling collapsed in a mall in Osasco, Brazil on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Carla Carniel/Reuters)

People visit the sunflowers installation, which is a part of the immersive exhibition “Van Gogh Alive” featuring large scale of Van Gogh artworks, produced by Grande Experiences during a media event in Tokyo on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Sharni Edwards, 27, and Robyn Peoples, 26, a Belfast couple who are the first known same-s*x couple to get married in Northern Ireland, kiss after being married, in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland on February 11, 2020. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

A handout phptopgraph made avaiable by NASA showing Russian support personnel roll the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft after it landed with with with Expedition 47 crew members Tim Kopra of NASA, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan 18 June 2016. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months in space where they served as members of the Expedition 46 and 47 crews onboard the International Space Station. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/EPA/NASA)

People in Mexico wave at U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego, California, U.S., November 10, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/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.