A worker cleans a statue of the founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin at Moscow Square in front of the House of Soviets in Saint-Petersburg on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Olga Maltseva/AFP Photo)

Aymara indigenous women “Martha La Altena” (El Alto's Martha) (R) and “Susana La Bonita” (Pretty Susana) take part in a freestyle wrestling flight in El Alto, on June 29, 2018. “Cholita Fighters” aim to include their show in a tourist route. (Photo by Aizar Raldes/AFP Photo)

Vendor Nyurgusun Starostina, 47, poses for a picture at an open-air market on a frosty day in Yakutsk, Russia, December 5, 2023. Temperatures in parts of the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia and located in the northeastern part of Siberia, went below minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) on December 5. (Photo by Roman Kutukov/Reuters)

A Dinosaurs makes his way around the course meeting Racegoers who are enjoying racing at Taunton Racecourse, Taunton, Somerset, England on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Phil Mingo/PPAUK/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Burdened with a shawl full of her belongings, a woman stops for a rest on the road between Julaca and Puno in Peru. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

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.

Harris & Ewing Inc. photographed people, events, and architecture, particularly in Washington, D.C., during the period 1905-1945. Photo: Tests of Curtiss Palne for Army, Single Control. Created by Harris & Ewing. Published in 1912.

A woman plays with her three dogs at the beach after sunset in Del Mar, California, USA on November 10, 2017. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)