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 sеxy model poses for photos during the 2016 Guangzhou Sеx Culture Festival in Guangzhou city, south China' s Guangdong province on November 10, 2016. The festival has featured the latest developments and technologies of Adult toys and reproductive health products in the country. (Photo by Asia Wire)

Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters sit on horseback as they travel to a local competition on January 29, 2015 in the mountains of Qinghe County, Xinjiang, northwestern China. The festival, organised by the local hunting community, is part of an effort to promote and grow traditional hunting practices for new generations in the mountainous region of western China that borders Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. The training and handling of the large birds of prey follows a strict set of ancient rules that Kazakh eagle hunters are preserving for future generations. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Indonesian soldiers wearing facemasks and personal protective equipment take a part in a sack race during games to celebrate ahead of the country's 75th Independence Day in Surabaya, East Java on August 14, 2020. Indonesia will mark its 75th Independence Day on August 17. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

On August 31, 2012, a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. (Photo by NASA/GSFC/SDO via The Atlantic)

In this September 1, 2015 photo, street artists Jenaro de Rosenzweig, left, and Alejandro Revilla pose for a portrait behind a restaurant's window covered with a mural by artist Francisco Munoz, signed with his artist's name below, in the Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. Rosenzweig and Revilla founded the “Street Art Chilango” cooperative in March 2013, which is filling neighborhoods with public art by local street artists. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

A member of the “Castellers Minyons de Terrassa” adjusts her belt before forming a human tower or ÒcastellÓ during the festival of the patron saint of Barcelona “The Virgin of Mercy” at Sant Jaume square in Barcelona, Spain, September 20, 2015. The formation of human towers is a tradition in Catalonia dating back to the 18th century. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

Bull Rider Dalton Kasel rides The Good Stuff during the second round of the PBR Unleash The Beast Monster Energy Buckoff at Madison Square Garden in New York, January 8, 2022. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)