A general view of atmosphere during 2016 New York Comic Con – Day 1 on October 6, 2016 in New York City. The annual event offers pop culture fans exhibitors and displays of popular video games, movies and comic books and many people attending dress as their favorite character. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images)

The possible surface of TRAPPIST-1f, one of seven newly discovered planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system that scientists using the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground based telescopes have discovered. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

People jump over the fire wearing traditional Russian village-style clothes as they celebrate the summer solstice with a bonfire in the village of Okunevo, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, in Okunevo, Russia, late Thursday, June 20, 2024. (Photo by Evgeniy Sofiychuk/AP Photo)

This 1999 photo, supplied by HBO, shows a younger-looking James Gandolfini, who plays mob boss Tony Soprano, in an episode from the first season of the HBO cable television mob series, “The Sopranos”. Actor James Gandolfini, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a conflicted New Jersey mob boss in the acclaimed HBO cable television series “The Sopranos”, has died while vacationing in Rome, the network said on June 19, 2013. (Photo by Anthony Neste/AP Photo/HBO)

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)

“Tardigrades (commonly known as waterbears or moss piglets) are small, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs. Tardigrades were first discovered in 1773 by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, who called them kleiner Wasserbär, meaning “little water bear” in German. The name Tardigrada means “slow walker” and was given by Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1777. The name water bear comes from the way they walk, reminiscent of a bear's gait. The biggest adults may reach a body length of 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in), the smallest below 0.1 mm. Freshly hatched tardigrades may be smaller than 0.05 mm”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Tardigrades. (Photo by SPL/East 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)

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.