Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Tate McRae performs during the iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 1, 2024. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Cody Vancina of Skydive Snohomish dives at the finish line after parachuting down to the track in a t-rex outfit with two colleagues during the “T-Rex World Championship Races” at Emerald Downs, Sunday, June 29, 2025, in Auburn, Wash. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo)

The Jinshanling Great Wall is seen after a rainfall on March 31, 2022 in Chengde, Hebei Province of China. (Photo by Zhou Wanping/VCG via Getty Images)

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.

Dancers from “LA Dance Project” perform, wearing a mask, during the drive-in show “Solo at Dusk” in Los Angeles, California, on October 13, 2020, amid the Coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Valerie Macon/AFP Photo)

Blake Perkins #16 of the Milwaukee Brewers gets dunked with Gatorade after the Brewers defeated the Boston Red Sox at American Family Field on April 22, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

Inter Miami's Julian Gressel reacts after missing a chance to score against Monterrey during a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter final second leg soccer match at the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

People look at huge waves crashing on the San Esteban de Pravia seafront, northern Spanish region of Asturias February 8, 2016. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters)