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)

Chinese workers maintain an Animatronic Dinosaurs at Gengu Dinosaurs Science and Technology company on November 13, 2019 in Zigong, Sichuan Province, China. There are hundreds of simulated dinosaur manufacturers in Zigong City. It is the largest simulated dinosaur manufacturing in China. It accounts for 95% of mainland China's production and 85% of the world's total. Its products are exported to more than 100 countries. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

A participant of the XIV International Ballet Competition prepares herself backstage before performing at the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Iranian women walk in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, August 5, 2023. These days, with uncovered women a common sight on Tehran streets, authorities have begun raiding companies where women employees or customers have been seen without the headscarf, or hijab. Iran's parliament is discussing a law that would increase punishments on uncovered women and the businesses they frequent. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/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.

A stroller walks his dogs in an autumnally colored forest in Cuxhaven, nothern Germany on November 7, 2018. (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/AFP Photo)

Nefertara, a supporter of pop star Britney Spears, wears an outfit inspired by the singer as she holds a picture of Britney that she painted, during a gathering on the day of a conservatorship case hearing at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 29, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Residents watch volcanic smoking and ashes rising from Mount Sinabung during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, February 24, 2016. Authorities have repeatedly called on local residents to remain patient in dealing with the impact of Sinabung's eruptions, which some experts have predicted will continue for five more years. (Photo by Xinhua/Barcroft Media)