A stunt rider jumps over spectators after the final stage of the annual ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike stage race, Cape Town, South Africa, 30 March 2014. The multi day stage race is know as the “Tour de France” of mountain biking and sees 1,200 riders riding 720km in seven days. The race includes the worlds leading professional racers along with amateur cyclists. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA)

Thai office workers walk past armed soldiers standing guard outside the Shinawatra Tower Two in Bangkok, Thailand, 20 May 2014. Thai army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha early on 20 May 2014, declared martial law giving the military full control to prevent further protest-related violence in the country. The statement was issued about 3 am on 20 May (2000 GMT), according to local media reports. Prayuth has the authority to declare martial law without the consent of the government, which has had caretaker status since 09 December 2013. Thailand has been wracked by six months of non-stop protests seeking to topple the government. At least 25 people have died in political-related violence and more than 700 injured. (Photo by Narong Sangnak/EPA)

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.

October 25, 2009; London,UK; The mascot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches a cheerleader during the NFL International Series game against the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by David Wilkinson/Offside Sports)

David Nickerson, 24, rides a wave dressed as Mrs Doubtfire during the 7th annual ZJ Boarding House Haunted Heats Halloween surf contest. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A pro-democracy protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask holds a yellow umbrella and a banner in the part of Hong Kong's financial central district protesters are occupying November 2, 2014. The former British colony of Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has witnessed a month of protests calling on the Beijing-backed government to keep its promise of introducing universal suffrage. The protests have for the most part been peaceful, with occasional clashes between the student-led protesters and Beijing supporters seeking to move them from the streets. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A boy looks back while he and another boy play on a Syrian military tank, destroyed during fighting with the Rebels, in the Syrian town of Azaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Sunday, September 2, 2012. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP Photo)

The antennas of the European Southern Observatory's Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, also known as ALMA, are set against the splendor of the Milky Way in this picture by Babak Tafreshi. Construction of the full ALMA array is due to be completed in Chile's Atacama Desert in 2013, but the facility is already making scientific observations with a partial array of antennas. (Photo by ESO/B. Tafreshi/TWAN)