A man drinks at a "colored" water cooler in a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City, July 1939. (Photo by Reuters/Library of Congress)

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.

Aiden Haas, left, and Lilli Alcala pose after being crowned Mud King and Mud Queen at the 29th annual Mud Day, Tuesday, July 12, 2016 in Westland, Mich. The event, open to children 12 and younger, was at the Hines Park-Nankin Mills Area west of Detroit. Children 12 and younger were able to slosh around in the pit while participating in mud limbo, wheelbarrow races and other free activities. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Tiny Irons attends the UK Film Premiere of Anuvahood at Empire Leicester Square on March 15, 2011 in London, England.

A South Korean diver wearing a little mermaid costume performs in a tank ahead of the “Chuseok” national holiday, at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea, 26 August 2022. Chuseok is the autumn harvest celebration of the Lunar Calendar and is one of Korea's biggest traditional holiday, which falls on 10 Setpember this year. (Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA/EFE)

British singer Rita Ora, dressed up in a silver top and black vinyl trousers celebrated her 30th birthday in upmarket Chinese restaurant, Hakkasan, in Mayfair, London on Thursday November 27, 2020. (Photo by Instagram/The Sun)

Workers from the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium and Imagine Exhibitions put together an animatronic spinosaurus outside the science center in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, October 27, 2015. The giant spinosaurus is part of the Dinosaurs Around the World exhibit, set to open on November 1. (Photo by Maria Lorenzino/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP Photo)

Policemen look at a wax figure of Rowan Atkinson, dressed as his popular television character Mr. Bean, on display outside a wax figure museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, August 24, 2014. (Photo by Alex Lee/Reuters)