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.

Revellers attend the Victorian Picnic during the Wave and Goth festival in Leipzig, Germany, May 22, 2015. The annual festival, known in Germany as Wave-Gotik Treffen (WGT), features over 100 bands and artists in venues all over the city playing Gothic rock and other styles of the dark wave music subculture. One of the biggest of its kind, the event attracts a regular audience of up to 20,000, the organisers said. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

A picture made available on 08 July 2015 showsa lightning strikes during a heavy storm over Poznan in the night of 07 July 2015. Severe storms passed last night over Poland causing lots of damages to buildings, trees, electricity and railway tractions. (Photo by Lukasz Ogrodowczyk/EPA)

A picture made available on 17 July 2015 shows the bright line of the Milky Way above the old oaks at the Rogalin landscape Park in Rogalin village, near Poznan, on the night of 16 July 2015. (Photo by Lukasz Ogrodowczyk/EPA)

Singers “Elle & The Pocket Belles” attend day 3 “Ladies Day” of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on August 3, 2017 in Chichester, England. (Photo by David Hartley/PA Wire)

A horse buggy is headed for the stables on a foggy night in New Orleans, Monday, December 18, 2017. (Photo by David Grunfeld/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune via AP Photo)

A layer of morning mist still covers the fields as the sun rises into the morning sky over Hohenfelden, Thuringia state, Germany, early 07 September 2016. Meteorologists predict the weather to become warm and sunny in the region with temperatures reaching around 256 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Martin Schutt/EPA)

A pale tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda) larva or caterpillar just after moulting on heather on Hankley Common, Surrey, England on April 30, 2019. (Photo by Gillian Pullinger/Alamy Stock Photo)