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.

A 19-year-old Japanese macaque monkey named Monday sneezes while suffering an allergy to pollen from the cedar tree, at Awajishima Monkey Center on March 26, 2012 in Sumoto, Hyogo, Japan. Some twenty monkeys are suffering the effects of hay fever at this time of the year, with the typical symptoms being the same as with humans. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

“«The Red Detachment of Women» (simplified Chinese: 红色娘子军) is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964. It is perhaps best known in the West as the ballet performed for U.S. President Richard Nixon on his visit to China in February 1972. Adapted from the earlier film of the same title under the personal direction of Zhou Enlai, which in turn adapted from the novel by Liang Xin, it depicts the liberation of a peasant girl in Hainan Island and her rise in the Chinese Communist Party”.

Volunteer rescuers prepare to drag a beached humpback calf to sea at Surfers Paradise Beach on August 8, 2011 on the Gold Coast, Australia. The humpback calf was stranded on the beach yesterday for hours before volunteer rescuers were able to drag it back to the sea. SeaWorld Australia says a mother and calf humpback were sighted near where the calf was released and are hoping to get photos to verify it is the same calf and that it has been reunited with it's mother. (Photo by 2011 SeaWorld Australia via Getty Images)

A man smashes an apple with a sword placed on the head of a man wearing a knave costume during the Easter knight event on April 21, 2014 in Berlin. The easter knight event delivers an insight into medieval lifestyle. (Photo by Rainer Jensen/AFP Photo/DPA)

A Palestinian man waves from his home as a clown and a man in a costume perform to entertain people amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

In this Saturday, July 14, 2018, file photo, waves caused by high tide envelops a man standing outside his house near the Arabian Sea in Mumbai, India. The man was washed away by the wave and rescued by locals about 100 meters away from the spot. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

A man rides a horse at a playground on a hill in Kabul April 19, 2015. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)