People sit at an oversize picnic table in Soho Square in London May 19, 2014. (Photo by Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

Then U.S. Army First Lieutenant Kirsten Griest (C) and fellow soldiers participate in combatives training during the Ranger Course on Fort Benning, Georgia, in this handout photograph taken on April 20, 2015 and obtained on August 20, 2015. When Griest and another woman completed the daunting U.S. Army Ranger school this week they helped end questions about whether women can serve as combat leaders, as the Pentagon is poised to open new roles, including elite Navy SEALs, to women in coming months. The feat by Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver followed a re-evaluation of the role of women after their frontline involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the end of a rule barring them from combat roles in 2013. (Photo by Spc. Nikayla Shodeen/Reuters/U.S. Army)

Brides-to-be participate in the “Running of the Brides” race in a park in Bangkok, Thailand March 25, 2017. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A man prepares plastic strings, used to produce mats, inside a mat factory in the rebel-controlled area of Maarshureen town in Idlib province, Syria, December 22, 2015. The town is known for the significant number of mat factories which exports its production mainly to nearby Iraq through checkpoints controlled by insurgents. But in the past months the business has declined due to heavy airstrikes against insurgents, vendors said. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

Two helicopters are seen following a collision near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast, Australia, 02 January 2023. Four people are dead and another 13 injured after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast. (Photo by Dave Hunt/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this July 17, 2015 photo, Michael Chilton squeezes into a corner of his car to make a quick repair to some body panels after he ran into a wall during dirt track racing in the late model division at the Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky. He banged up the car in the qualifying round and had a few minutes to fix it before the final race. (Photo by David Stephenson/AP 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.

“I have seen batches of banknotes worth more than $2.6 million, but beyond all doubt, gold bars look much more attractive!”. – Shamil Zhumatov. Photo: Cooling-down gold ingot. March 14, 2013; Tien Shan mountains, Kyrgyzstan. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)