Members of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret cross Broad St., before a march by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in Philadelphia, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP Images)

Rachel Miner, 15, left, of Emmetsburg, Iowa, sits with Carlotta Haas, 15, a foreign exchange student from Duesseldorf, Germany, who had been living with Miner and her family but was called home, as they waited for her flight Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. (Photo by Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP Photo)

EMT Christian Amoroso, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), pauses while unloading COVID-19 patients at the Montefiore Medical Center Wakefield Campus on April 06, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. A specialized bus known as a Medical Evacuation Transport Unit (METU), caries infected patients on stretchers and benches between hospitals. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Corey Jurgensen runs along East Henry Avenue wearing an inflatable unicorn costume. Jurgensen has been wearing the costume during runs several times a week to cheer up others during this time of isolation but finds it therapeutic for herself as well to run through her Seminole Heights neighborhood wearing a silly costume, Thursday, April 16, 2020 in Tampa, Fla. (Photo by Martha Asencio Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP Photo)

Meade forward Jaisean Kenner (21) hauls down a rebound against Sherwood forward Bryce Johnson (33) during the Class 4A boys' semifinals on March 8, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

American rapper Kanye West, American singer and songwriter Ty Dolla $ign, Australian architect and model Bianca Censori and her mother Alexandra Censori arrive back in Los Angeles, CA on a privet Jet on March 13, 2024. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Football Soccer, England vs Wales, EURO 2016, Group B, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France on June 16, 2016. Soccer fan Laura Woods from England fixes her makeup near riot police near the Lens stadium before the England vs Wales game. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/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.