Sunrise over the River Thames and Tower Bridge in London today morning on January 28, 2024. It has been forecast that Sahara dust will be in the atmosphere. (Photo by Alister Gooding/Picture Exclusive)

A member of Sisters of the Valley, a non-religious international group founded in 2014 which has pledged to spread the gospel of the healing powers of cannabis, who uses the moniker “Sister Bernardet” online and asked not to give her name for fear of reprisal, smokes a joint at the Sisters of the Valley's farm on the outskirts of a village in central Mexico on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)

Art graduate Katie Mills with her one of her “Kheeky” face flesh bottles that forms part of her “Bottoms Up” illustration design work during the media preview of the Edinburgh College of Art graduate show in Edinburgh on Friday, August 16, 2024. The exhibition features the work of more than 350 postgraduate students, and is part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, the UK's largest annual celebration of visual art. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

Timbuktu: A UN peacekeeper from Burkina Faso stands guard at the Djinguereber mosque, built in the 14th century, during a visit by a UN delegation on election day in Timbuktu, Mali, July 28, 2013. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

A reveler jumps over a bonfire during the night of San Juan in Alcobendas near Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The San Juan night coincides with the Summer solstice and it's the welcome to Summer. This celebration takes place during the shortest night of the year in almost all cities and towns of Spain. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

A man is seen wrapped with pythons, some which include the Albino Burmese Python, as part of a show celebrating the coming Year of the Snake in the Chinese calendar, while spectators look on, in Malabon city, north of Manila, Philippines, December 28, 2012. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

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.