Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA. 7th October, 2016. Kaleigh Black, 14, left, and Amber Olsen, 12, run for cover as a squall with rain and wind pelt them while they explore the Cocoa Beach Pier on Friday (10/7/16) after hurricane Matthew passed to the east on Florida's east coast.(Photo by Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)

Competitors take part in the 8th annual World Gravy Wrestling Championships at the Rose n Bowl Pub in Bacup, north west England on August 31, 2015. Contestants must participate in fancy dress and wrestle in a pool of Lancashire Gravy for 2 minutes whilst being scored for a variety of wrestling moves. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

Fans of Germany react as they watch the Euro 2016 match between France and Germany in France at a public screening of the match in Berlin, Germany, July 7, 2016. France won 2-0. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

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 woman poses for a picture taken by her friend (not in picture) in a temple decorated to celebrate Chinese New Year at Samut Prakan province outside Bangkok February 7, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A teller at a money changer handles Indonesia rupiah bank notes in Jakarta, Indonesia November 11, 2016. (Photo by Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

It has become tradition in Wigan in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom for residents to go out on the town in fancy dress for Boxing Day on Sunday, December 26, 2021. Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. (Photo by Joel Goodman/London News Pictures)

A traffic police officer directs traffic in Mohe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, December 29, 2019. Temperatures in Mohe, “north pole” of China, often stand at below minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter mornings. Photo by Yang Siqi/Xinhua News Agency/Alamy Live News)