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.

South Korean emergency services personnel wearing protective clothing participate in an anti-terror and anti-chemical terror drill on the sidelines of the joint South Korea-US Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercise, at a shopping mall in Seoul on August 23, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Jockeys spur buffalos during the Makepung buffalo races at Jembrana in Bali, Indonesia on October 23, 2016. Makepung is a tradition for farmers to celebrate a bumper harvest in Bali. (Photo by Kadek Raharja/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

“Slow”. A calm cow in the messy streets of Jodhpur. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Matthias Troeger/National Geographic Photo Contest)

How awkward! Michelle Rodriguez (35) got very visibly drunk and sloppily kissed model Cara Delevigne (21) at the January 7 New York Knicks game, in what has to be the greatest public waste of court side seats of all time. Photo: Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, January 7, 2014. Actress Michelle Rodriguez and model Cara Delevingne sitting in the front row during the 4th quarter. The two were hugging and touching each other and Rodriguez appeared to be very intoxicated. (Photo by Anthony J. Causi/Charles Wenzelberg/The New York Post)

Models Lara Stone, Doutzen Kroes, CEO of l'Oreal Cyril Chapuy, Actress Eva Longoria, Models Karlie Kloss and Isabeli Fontana attend amfAR's 22nd Cinema Against AIDS Gala, Presented By Bold Films And Harry Winston at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 21, 2015 in Cap d'Antibes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/amfAR15/WireImage)

Afghan vendors sort out oranges for sale at a wholesale market in the Bati kot district in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, 04 December 2020. The orange fruit floods markets across Afghanistan due to bumper crop in the winter season. Oranges are rich in vitamin C, which may reduce severity of the common cold. (Photo by Ghulamullah Habibi/EPA/EFE)

People cool off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park on August 12, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. As temperatures climb across the nation, nearly 200 million Americans are under some level of heat advisory. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)