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.

White smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

An Indian Hindu devotee celebrates Holi, the spring festival of colours, during a traditional gathering at a temple in Nandgaon village in Uttar Pradesh state on March 16, 2019. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month. (Photo by Noemi Cassanelli/AFP Photo)

Bottlenose dolphins leap off the Southern California coast on January 30, 2012 near Dana Point, California. A coalition that includes Native American tribes, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council is on the National Marine Fisheries Service for more protection for dolphins, whales, and other migrating marine animals from the use of sonar in training by the US Navy on the West Coast. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

A vegetarian festival devotee gets medical attention after a parade at Jui Tui shrine on September 30, 2014 in Phuket, Thailand. (Photo by Borja Sanchez-Trillo/Getty Images)

Yan Anyu or Miss Cream rides in a taxi in Shanghai on June 13, 2020, as she makes her way to a bar in the city of Shanghai to make her first presentation as a drag queen. Attitudes toward alternative lifestyles are slowly softening in China, and members of a small but growing drag community have begun to step into the spotlight. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

The villas of Marabe Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are home to approximately 2,000 people. Located in one of the hottest regions of the world, the record high temperature here is 49.2C° (120.6F°). (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Penguin Random House)

Hospitality staff are reflected in a puddle of water as they prepare to pose for photograph in front of a giant basket decorated with replicas of flowers and fruits on display on Tiananmen Square during the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress in Beijing, Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged a reinvigorated Communist Party to take on a more forceful role in society and economic development to better address “grim” challenges facing the country as he opened a twice-a-decade national congress. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)