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.

Artists called “Le couple en chocolat” take part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 22, 2018. Living statues are a common sight in many city centres, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

These adorable pawtraits seem to show the personalities of a variety of canines, capturing their incredible diverseness in their expressions and fine details. Khokhlov and Ershova, who are from Moscow, have taken portraits of about 50 breeds of pooches – earning much critical acclaim. (Photo by Alexander Khokhlov/Veronica Ershova/Caters News Agency)

A man holds a pigeon during the British Homing World show of the year at Blackpool's Winter Gardens in Blackpool, north west England on January 17, 2016. Homing pigeon fanciers from across Europe gathered to find the Supreme Show Champion with judges casting their eyes over hundreds of birds on show. The Royal Pigeon Racing Association organises the event and has Queen Elizabeth II, who keeps pigeons at Sandringham, as its patron. (Photo by Andrew Yates/Reuters)

Buddy Mae Walker (R), 4, looks at herself in the mirror while trying on a child respirator provided by the non-profit TeamRaccoonPDX on October 6, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. We told them their grandparents sent them space suits to keep them safe, Jessica Walker said of the respirators, which the family sought out after police used tear gas near their residential street. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

We all have our own ways of passing time on our daily commutes. Some people read, others try to sleep, and many listen to music or play on their phones. But one creative commuter has a simple and highly entertaining way that hopefully more people will embrace. By placing a face from a newspaper in front of a person at just the right angle, they transform other commuters into recognizable celebrities while keeping the unbeknownst participant obscured.

A student is assisted by teachers after she fell ill while marching in a parade celebrating Saint Peter's day in Lima, Peru, Monday, June 29, 2015. During the feast day of the Catholic saint, who is the patron saint of fishermen, coastal communities pay homage to St. Peter, whose statue is paraded to the sea and petitions are made to keep their vessels and all who work on them safe. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A tiger jumps while being trained at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, February 25, 2016. Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, dogged for years by talk that it supplies the black market and mistreats its animals, is fighting to keep the big cats after wildlife authorities rejected a bid to extend a zoo licence that expired in 2013. The Buddhist temple, home to more than 100 tigers, has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and wildlife activists have accused it of illegal breeding of the animals. Thai wildlife authorities have sent ten of the temple's tigers to a wildlife sanctuary. But the temple, which bills itself as a wildlife sanctuary, has denied links to illegal trafficking, and wants to hold on to its tigers. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)