Natasha Romanenko

Freelance military analyst.

As a specialist in nuclear and conventional weaponry, she provided Solid Snake with information via Codec. A victim of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown as a child, she lost both parents as they struggled to contain the radiation. She later moved to America, still plagued by the effects of residual radiation poisoning and the gauntlet of procedures it entails. However, because she has never been diagnosed with cancer, the help she has been able to receive remains limited.

Consequently, she espoused nuclear nonproliferation, claiming that nuclear bombing represents "an invisible war that transcends borders and generations". She worked at the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), then at the NSA (National Security Agency), regularly dealing with top-secret information, but the end of the Cold War saw her join the ranks of displaced military analysts. She then wrote freelance military criticism for a variety of military intelligence journals including the US Naval Journal. In 1996, she participated in the Canberra Anti-Nuclear Commission as an advisor.

Following the events at Shadow Moses, she authored the best-selling exposé, "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth", donating profits from its sales to Philanthropy in support for Solid Snake.

Formerly married to Richard Ames, Secret Service agent for President James Johnson, Romanenko has since become single.