“Not yet, ma’am . . . but we’re hearing that the Brits might have. They’ve got a team in Kaliningrad who have been feeding us the latest intel on those rocket sites. And because they and their Forest Brother mates have been doing such a good job of it, we’ve kept Special Forces out of Kaliningrad altogether. All part of the deception plan.”

Bear saw the President look confused, as did McCann, because he continued his explanation.

“If we send Special Forces into Kaliningrad now and that is detected, let alone they get caught, then the Russians are going to smell a very large rat and ramp up their defenses. And it will be game over. So, for now, it’s no special ops until it becomes essential, nor any NATO forces on the Kaliningrad border. CIA tell us that their Russian sources are convinced we wouldn’t dare touch Russian soil. Which is why they are still thinning out their home garrisons and are using them to try and knock out the opposition in the Baltics. But this plan only works as long as this Brit keeps sending us high quality intel. If the team leader can do that and if we can drop our boys in and snatch the missiles without any being fired, well . . . the rest will be a slam dunk, ma’am.”

“I like the sound of this soldier, General McCann. Tell me more about him. What’s his name?”

1600 hours, Tuesday, July 6, 2017

North Atlantic Council NATO Headquarters, Brussels

“IN CONCLUSION, THE force generation process for this operation has been relatively successful and I would like to pass on my thanks to all nations for the excellent cooperation SHAPE has had from your Chiefs of Defense and Ministries of Defense. Secretary General, that concludes my briefing.”

And with that, General Sir David McKinlay closed his brief and sat back in his chair. By no means every formation and unit in the Combined Joint Statement of Requirement, or CJSOR in NATO jargon, had been provided. In particular, it was deeply regrettable that his own nation had faced such difficulties in putting together a force. Whether it was lack of Navy escorts and manpower or the Army’s dependence on reserves to fill key gaps, the UK’s defense capability was a shadow of what it once had been. Nevertheless, a number of critical deficiencies had been filled by the Americans, so he was able to brief the NAC that, in his professional military judgment, the force would be able to do the job it was being asked to take on.