Channel 2's Blake Essig and Photojournalist Albert Lutan travel to Afghanistan with soldiers of JBER's 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, and tell the stories of Alaska's deployed soldiers.
Operation Afghanistan: The Spartan Brigade


Operation Afghanistan: Soldier puts musical dreams on hold to serve


Operation Afghanistan: translator risks his life to rid contry of Taliban


Operation Afghanistan: the changing role of the Spartan Brigade


Operation Afghanistan: Soccer bridges the cultural gap


Operation Afghanistan: The role of Alaska's 4-25 Spartan Brigade


Operation Afghanistan: Fallen soldiers remembered at FOB Fenty


Operation Afghanistan: a day in the life of the Spartan Brigade


Operation Afghanistan: married military couples deploy together


Operation Afghanistan: A day on the front lines


Operation Afghanistan: Finding a suit at the bazaar
Reporter's Notebook: Reporting from the front lines
Channel 2's Blake Essig describes what it was like for he and photojournalist Albert Lutan to report from Afghanistan alongside JBER's 4-25 Brigade.
MULTIMEDIA MAP: Alaska's Spartan Brigade
Through mapped stories and photos, experience a rare behind-the-headlines look at the deployment, mission and sacrifice of the nearly 2,100 members of the Alaska's 425 Spartan Brigade.
Part 1: The Role of JBER's Spartan Brigade
Less than a year after being spared from the federal chopping block, 2,100 soldiers in JBER's 4-25 Spartan Brigade are deployed in Afghanistan
Part 2: Forward Operating Base Fenty Memorial
At the entrance of Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 274 names of those who have given their all are engraved in perpetuity.
Part 3 : A Day in the Life of the Spartan Brigade
Soldiers of the 4-25 Spartan Brigade have to be ready for anything, around the clock
Part 4 : Serving with your spouse during deployment
We meet a married couple, serving together at the same airbase in Afghanistan, who had to leave their children behind with family.
Part 5 : A day on Afghanistan's front line
Channel 2's Blake Essig describes the 24 hours he and photojournalist Albert Lutan spent on Afghanistan's front line at Outpost Mad Dog in the Mohmand Valley with soldiers from Alaska's 4-25 Brigade.
Part 6 : Finding a suit at Tactical Base Gamberi
On many U.S. military installations in the Middle East, locals set up an outdoor bazaar, which gives American soldiers a taste of the area they're serving in, and sometimes, an overlooked necessity.
Part 7 : Soccer bridges the cultural gap
A simple game of soccer can bridge the cultural gap, even in a warzone
Part 8: The changing role of Alaska's Spartan Brigade
The role of Alaska's Spartan Brigade has changed a lot during the 16-year old war in Afghanistan
Part 9 : Afghan translators risk their lives to work with American troops
Afghan translators risk their lives, and the safety of their families, to work with American troops to rid their country of Isis and the Taliban
Part 10 :Soldier puts musical dreams on rest to answer call to duty
A member of Alaska's Spartan Brigade puts his musical dreams on hold to serve in uniform