Aldi SugandaRizal (2 years-old) smoking a cigarette while playing at the family home in Sekayu district, South Sumatera, Indonesia on May 23, 2010. (Photo by Ardiles Rante/Barcroft Media)

The world-famous sprinter Usain Bolt, 30, took a break from the track to celebrate Carnival as revellers doused each other with paint in Trinidad and Tobago on February 26, 2017. (Photo by David Wears/Splash News and Pictures)

Thailand's Puttita Supajirakul is down on the court after a point during a women's doubles badminton match against the Netherlands at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 11, 2016. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

America in the 1970s: Texas. Motorcyclist loading his possessions onto a truck with the help of his friends in Leakey, May 1973. (Photo by Marc St. Gil/NARA via The Atlantic)

A hot air balloon in tortoise shape flies in the air during the Tazaungdaing air balloon festival in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar, 25 November 2015. During the festival, hot air balloons made of multicolored papers and hung with paper lanterns, fireworks and fire sticks are exploded in mid-air. (Photo by Hein Htet/EPA)

Party-goers partake in a festival better known as Holi One, during International Workers Day in Johannesburg, South Africa, 01 May 2015. The colour festival promotes togetherness as well as colourness in everday life. May Day is observed worldwide every year on 01 May. (Photo by Kevin Sutherland/EPA)

Couples take part in the “Love and Challenge Marathon” in Hanoi, Vietnam, 16 August 2015. Fifty couples, who are going to get married, participated in the event which is held the fifth time. This year, the winners of the marathon received a honeymoon trip to Malaysia. (Photo by Luong Thai Linh/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.