A new volunteer for the Ukrainian interior ministry's “Azov” battalion takes part in tests before heading to frontlines in eastern Ukraine, at the battalion's training centre in Kiev, Ukraine, August 14, 2015. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/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.

“Wong Maye-E joined AP as a staff photographer in 2003. Based in Singapore, Maye-E's work is centered around Sports reportage, entertainment, politics, and regional news stories. Maye-E has covered headlining events such as the 2014 World Cup, Thailand political protests, and the devastation of the Philippines Typhoon”. – Associated Press. Photo: A baby black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) clings onto its mother's back on Thursday January 29, 2009 in Singapore where it's national zoo is actively involved in the conservation and education of wildlife reserves. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

A man holds up for a picture a one hundred trillion Zimbabwean dollars note inside a shop in Harare, Zimbawe, June 12, 2015. Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was a period of currency instability that began in the late 1990s shortly after the confiscation of private farms from landowners, towards the end of Zimbabwean involvement in the Second Congo War. During the height of inflation from 2008 to 2009, it was difficult to measure Zimbabwe's hyperinflation because the government of Zimbabwe stopped filing official inflation statistics. However, Zimbabwe's peak month of inflation is estimated at 79.6 billion percent in mid-November 2008. (Photo by Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters)

“Erwin Olaf is a Dutch photographer. Olaf is most famous for his commercial and personal work. His work has received many awards and he has held exhibitions around the world”. – Wikipedia. Photo: «Berlin» Project. Porträt 01, April, 22, 2012. (Photo by Erwin Olaf/Hasted Kraeutler Gallery)

A Somali police officer arrests a suspected rebel member of the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for today's pre-dawn attack on a Kenyan university campus near the Somali border. The following gallery examines who is al Shabaab. Here: Somali police officer (R) arrests a suspected rebel member (L) of the Al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers at the Lido beach north of Somalia's capital Mogadishu March 23, 2012. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

A woman with “I'm Charlie” written on her hand takes part in a Hundreds of thousands of French citizens solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris January 11, 2015. French citizens will be joined by dozens of foreign leaders, among them Arab and Muslim representatives, in a march on Sunday in an unprecedented tribute to this week's victims following the shootings by gunmen at the offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the killing of a police woman in Montrouge, and the hostage taking at a kosher supermarket at the Porte de Vincennes. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

A picture taken on March 16, 2017 shows women dressed up as mermaids posing by a pool at a mermaid training school in Moscow. Russian women who have dreamt of becoming a mermaid since their youngest years, start turning their fantasies into reality with a new type of fitness – mermaid swimming. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)