A moon light illuminates the sky through the clouds over a large line of grass between some home houses in the small village of Tafalla, northern Spain, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo)

Cambridge policemen, known as “Bulldogs”, lined up for the University Bulldogs Chase, dressed in morning coats and top hats, 7th March 1936. (Photo by H. Allen/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Revelers march in the Lower Ninth Ward during a second line parade marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A Ukrainian serviceman walks an empty street in the front line city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on February 25, 2023. (Photo by Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Visitors dressed as frogs walk along a popular street lined with bars, in Beijing, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Ukrainian servicemen of the 28th Separate Mechanised Brigade fires a 122mm mortar towards Russian positions at the front line, near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Photo by Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo)

A group of tattooed women from the Muun tribe who inhabit the hills of the Arakan state. The design, known as the letter B-pattern, is common in the Mindat area. It is composed of dots, lines and occasionally circles, in February, 2015, in Myanmar, Burma. With spider webs, B-patterns and crossed lines painstakingly inked on their faces these stunning photographs show the tattooed women of Burma. French photographer Eric Lafforgue travelled to the Chin, Rakhine and Arakan states of northwestern Myanmar to capture the rare facial designs. (Photo by Eric Lafforgue/Barcroft Media)

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.