A 180 degrees rotated photograph shows the shadows of Polina (L), a six-year-old Belarusian first grade school girl, and her father, cast on the street while on their way to Polina's first day of school, which marks the traditional start of the academic year, in Minsk, Belarus, 02 September 2019. The start of a new academic year in Belarus, officially called Day of Knowledge, is a festive day for all school and university students in the country. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)

A honor guard soldier stands at attention during a memorial religious service for those killed in the 1989 anti-communist uprising in University Square, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Participants and relatives of those killed marked the 33rd anniversary of the anti-communist uprising which started in Bucharest on Dec. 21, 1989 and left more than one thousand people dead and ended the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 26, 2022. Recent Taliban rulings on Afghan women include bans on university education and working for NGOs, sparking protests in major cities. Security in the capital Kabul has intensified in recent days, with more checkpoints, armed vehicles, and Taliban special forces on the streets. Authorities have not given a reason for the tougher security. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Bangladeshi artists wear floral attire as they join celebrations of the spring festival “Basanta Utsav” at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka, in Bangladesh, 14 February 2024. The Bashanta Utshab, or Spring Festival, is a local traditional festival which marks the beginning of the Spring Season while young people also celebrate it along with Valentine's Day. (Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA/EFE)

A group of San Bushmen from the Khomani San community practice their hunter-gatherer craft in the Southern Kalahari desert on October 15, 2009 in the Kalahari, South Africa. One of the largest studies of African genetics by an international team from the University of Pennsylvania, published in April 2009, revealed that the San of Southern Africa are the most genetically diverse on earth, and that the San homeland could be the spot where modern humanity began. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Final preperations are made backstage during Graduate Fashion Week at Earls Court on June 6, 2011 in London, England. The event which began in 1991 showcases emerging talent from BA Graduate fashion design courses across the UK and includes exhibition stands and catwalk shows from around 50 universities. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/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.