Canoeists are framed by the tail of a breaching whale in Antarctica in April 2023. The photographer, from California, writes: “It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime moment”. (Photo by Jiahong Zeng/Solent News)

A Cossack slashes a watermelon with a sabre during a sabre-cutting competition in the village of Novosvetlovsky, Rostov region, on August 27, 2023. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Fashionistas wait for the start of Johannesburg Fashion Week 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, November 8, 2023. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

Children dressed as Hindu deities take part in an event to mark the consecration of Ayodhya Ram temple, in Bhopal on January 22, 2024. (Photo by Gagan Nayar/AFP Photo)

Sunisa Lee competes on the beam during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

A Harlequin Great Dane named H and a Chihuahua named Boo during a photo call for the launch of this year's Crufts, at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, United Kingdom on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

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.

Tank crew standing in front of M-4 tank, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, June, 1942. (Alfred Palmer/OWI/LOC)