Pilgrims dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes attend the traditional Georgi horse riding procession on Easter Monday in heavy snowfall, in the southern Bavarian town of Traunstein April 6, 2015. Since the early 16th century, farmers have taken part in the pilgrimage to bless their horses. This tradition, the “Georgiritt”, goes back to the legend of Saint George, the horsemen's patron saint. (Photo by Michael Dalder/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.

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

Desiree Urban is painted at Columbus Circle as body-painting artists gathered to decorate nude models as part of an event featuring artist Andy Golub, Saturday, July 26, 2014, in New York. Golub says New York was the only city in the country that would allow his inaugural Bodypainting Day. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)

Lightning from a tornadic thunderstorm passing over Clearwater, Kansas strikes at an open field May 19, 2013. A massive storm front swept north through the central United States on Sunday, hammering the region with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City. News reports said at least one person had died. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Reuters)

In this November 18, 2014 photo, Murshida, 12, sits on the lap of her mother Marjina as the train leaves for their village in West Bengal, at a railway station in New Delhi, India. Six months ago, Marjina stepped off a train in New Delhi with her two children, hoping to find a better life after her husband abandoned them without so much as a goodbye. The family spent their days at a landfill picking through other people’s garbage to find salvageable bits to resell or recycle. After six months of poverty, illness and shame, they returned to that train station in New Delhi, headed back to an uncertain future to their hometown in West Bengal. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

Runners hoist another runner into the air after completing The Color Run All-Star 5K as part of the All-Star Baseball game festivities, Saturday, July 11, 2015, at Sawyer Point Park, in Cincinnati. After more than two years of planning and sprucing up, city organizers say everything's in place for a smooth, safe and fun five days of events that began Friday morning with the opening of Major League Baseball's fan festival. There will be concerts, exhibits, celebrity softball, the Home Run Derby and other activities capped by Tuesday night's game. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)