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.

Dramatic aerial image show a Scots vessel slowly sinking beneath the waves after it hit a “black spot” in the North Sea mid-voyage. Ocean Maid BA55 capsizing amidst the waves after it ran aground off the shore of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, area of Scotland on yesterday morning, October 24, 2022. Fraserburgh Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescued the four crew members from the shipwreck at 5:56 am, guiding them into lifeboats as they escaped the keeling ship. (Photo by Deadline News)

A graduated cadet bleeds after being hit by a hat tossed in the air, at the end of the 2023 graduation ceremony at the United States Military Academy (USMA), at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York, U.S., May 27, 2023. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

A man steers with his legs while riding a motorcycle on a road in Vietnam's northern Hoa Binh province, outside Hanoi, October 15, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

In this Tuesday, March 12, 2019 photo, a visitor takes part in an immersive experience showing visitors how dogs see from inside the head of a dog at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. A new exhibit at a Los Angeles museum examines the relationship between dogs and humans and explores why the two species seem to think so much alike and get along so well. “Dogs! A Science Tail” opens Saturday, March 16, 2019, at the California Science Center. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP Photo)

Members of Siam Classic Dance Studio perform for onlookers at Haymarket on January 21, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. The Lunar New Year or Spring Festival marks the transition of the Chinese zodiac sign from one animal to the next. 2023 sees in the Year of the Rabbit, which begins on January 22. In Chinese culture, the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity. The festival is celebrated in Australia by the country's significant Chinese-origin minority, who follow much of the same traditions as the Chinese diaspora in the rest of the world. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

People take part in a water gun battle as part of the annual Songkran festival, also known as water festival, the traditional Thai New Year celebrations, at the tourist spot of Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand, 13 April 2023. Thailand celebrates its first water-splashing Songkran festival following a three-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Songkran is celebrated with splashing water and putting powder on each other's faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)