Kashmiri residents are evacuated in a tractor from their flooded neighborhood in Srinagar, India, Sunday, September 7, 2014. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

A dog surfs at the 6th Annual Surf City surf dog contest in Huntington Beach, California September 28, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A dancer poses for a photograph as part of the “Dance as Art” photo project in Times Square in New York, on September 22, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

A farmer harvests rice on a field in Lalitpur, Nepal, on October 30, 2014. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Photographer Vincent Jansen travels throughout Europe, visiting beautiful abandoned places. He explores churches, factories, sanatoriums, mortuaries, villas and theaters, all quietly waiting for renovation or demolition. His photos show a unique perspective on what is happening behind the “no trespassing” signs: where nature is slowly gaining ground and the desolation, loneliness and decay leave their stunning traces. Photo: This piano was located in one of many rooms of a huge chateau in Poland. (Photo by Vincent Jansen)

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.