A priest blesses an elderly Romanian Roma couple after a religious service celebrating the Birth of the Virgin Mary at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania, Monday, September 8, 2014. Thousands of Gypsies or Roma gather on a hillside after attending a religious service in a nearby monastery and celebrate the religious holiday by sharing food and playing traditional music until the next dawn. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Two stallions confront each other at a horse fighting contest in Rongshui, China. More than 30 horses from surrounding regions took part in the traditional activity of the Lantern festival. (Photo by China Foto Press)

This picture taken on July 9, 2013 shows heavy flood waters sweeping through Beichuan in southwest China´s Sichuan province. Rainstorms sweeping across parts of China have affected millions, causing landslides and disabling transportation in provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan, state media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Passengers climb to board an overcrowded train at a railway station in Dhaka August 8, 2013. Millions of residents in Dhaka are travelling home from the capital city to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by Andrew Biraj/Reuters)

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.

Storm clouds blanket the sky over Great American Ball Park as Starlin Castro #13 of the Chicago Cubs fields a ground ball in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds as on July 7, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

David Bowie, 1974. David Bowie's quirky character and style was perfectly encapsulated in this shot by Terry O'Neill, which shows the music legend posing next to a barking dog on the artwork for his 1974 album “Diamond Dogs” in London. (Photo by Terry O'Neill)

A bride weeps in a mass wedding ceremony at the CheongShim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea, Wednesday, February 12, 2014. Some 2,500 South Korean and foreign couples exchanged or reaffirmed marriage vows in the Unification Church's mass wedding arranged by Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)