War with Russia

KGB—Principal intelligence service of the former Soviet Union

LANTIRN—Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, a combined navigation and targeting pod system.

LZ—Landing zone for helicopter-borne forces

MA—Military assistant. A middle-ranking staff officer to a senior officer

MEF—Marine Expeditionary Force

MI6—Name commonly given to Secret Intelligence Service

MOD—UK Ministry of Defense

MVD—Russian interior ministry controlling internal troops

NAC—North Atlantic Council, the decision-making body of NATO

NATO—North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

NATO Sec Gen—NATO Secretary General, invariably a distinguished international figure who is responsible for leading the North Atlantic Council

NDCC—National Defense Control Center. Russian principal military command center

NRF—NATO Response Force

NSA—National Security Agency. US intelligence agency responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence

“O” Group—Orders group. Conference at which military commander issues orders to immediate subordinates in the chain of command.

ODA—Operational Detachment Alpha. 12-man basic unit of US Special Operations Forces

OTT—Over the top, as in excessive

PJHQ—Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood in Middlesex, England

PM—UK Prime Minister

PR—Public relations

PRR—Personal role radio

PSO—Principal staff officer to a very senior officer

PVR—Premature Voluntary Release

RNZS—Russkiy Narodov Zaschita Sila, or Russian People’s Protection Force, a fictional militia

ROE—Rules of engagement

RV—Rendezvous point

SA80 A2LA85—British army’s standard infantry rifle

SACEUR—Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO’s strategic commander

SAM—Surface-to-air missile

SAS—Special Air Service. UK Special Forces

SBS—UK (principally maritime) Special Forces

SEALs—US Navy’s primary Special Operations Forces

SF—Special Forces. UK term for special operations forces

SHAPE—Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO’s strategic headquarters

SIGINT—Signals intelligence

siloviki—Russian term denoting politicians with a background in military or security services. Much favored by the Russian president.

SIS—Secret Intelligence Service. British foreign intelligence agency

SNMCMG—Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group

SOF—Special operations forces

Sonar—Sound Navigation and Ranging. A technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, communicate with, or detect objects on or under the surface of the water, such as other vessels.

SOP—Standard operating procedures

STRIKFORNATO—Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO. The Alliance’s premier maritime battle staff and the Alliance’s primary link for integrating US maritime capabilities with NATO’s

TIC—Troops in contact

USAFE—US Air Force Europe

VHF—Very high frequency. Radio waves between 30–300 MHz

VIP—Very important person

VJTF—Very High Readiness Joint Task Force

VTC—Video teleconference

VVIP—Very very important person

Acknowledgments

THE INSPIRATION FOR this book came from the many good friends I made as a result of a number of trips to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Not only have they shown me great kindness and warm hospitality, but they have shared their personal and family histories of the brutal period of Soviet occupation. The courage with which they regained their freedom in the dying days of the Soviet Union is nothing short of inspirational, hence the dedication at the front of this book. Those events took place more than a generation ago and have passed into history. But in the face of a resurgent Russia, once again a potentially existential threat on the eastern frontiers of the Baltic states and to all members of NATO, they must never be repeated.