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
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
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.
