Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave their residence in Paris, on May 23, 2014. (Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP Photo)

An airplane passes the moon as it makes its approach to Philadelphia International Airport, Sunday, September 7, 2014, in Philadelphia. (Photo by Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

Kim Kardashian is seen on June 27, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Alessio Botticelli/GC Images)

The Yakutat Glacier is seen during a flight over southeastern Alaska near the town of Yakutat, October 7, 2014. (Photo by Bob Strong/Reuters)

A musher races with his dogs during a sled dog European Championship in Venek November 22, 2014. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

A child working at Ship breaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh on November 14, 2014. (Photo by Pascal Mannaerts/Alamy Stock Photo)

People sit near a fully loaded in Madama near the border with Lybia on January 1, 2015. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian paid a surprise visit to northern Niger on January 1, to visit a base being built to combat the growing flow of weapons and jihadists from neighbouring Libya. Le Drian travelled from Chad to Madama, a desert outpost about 100 kilometres from Libya, where he saw in the New Year with troops at a French base. Madama is situated on the route used by jihadists and arms smugglers in southern Libya to reach northern Mali and Niger. (Photo by Dominique Faget/AFP Photo)

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.