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.

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“NASA's Mars rover Opportunity just celebrated its ninth anniversary on Mars – a mission that was originally meant to last just 90 days...” – The Atlantic. Photo: NASA's rover Opportunity visits Victoria Crater, viewed from orbit by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in october of 2006. Opportunity is a small dot on the crater's lip, at top right. Opportunity first reached the crater's rim on September 27, 2006. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona via The Atlantic)

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