Frank Woods

"Keep your eyes on the dirt; I don't want you shot in the balls!"

- Woods to Mason while Mason has control of the helicopter in "Payback".

Sergeant Frank Woods is one of the main non-playable characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Woods is part of the Studies and Observation Group. On Woods' left arm is a USMC tattoo, which suggests his branch of service.

Woods is played by James C. Burns.

Black Ops
Woods first appears in Cuba, with Mason, Bowman and Carlos on a mission to assassinate Fidel Castro, which is apparently successful until is later revealed that Mason, who took the shot, actually killed a double. The team are able to exfiltrate under heavy fire, as Mason sacrifices himself to clear the runway for their escape plane to successfully take off.

Woods later leads his team to Baikonur, U.S.S.R on a mission to disrupt the Soviet space program at the Missile Launch Facility, and also to retrieve the captured Weaver. Woods and Mason kill two Russians idling and disguise themselves as the enemy. Woods is somewhat fluent in Russian, as 2 more Russian guards talk to him in their language and he answers back. After being exposed and fighting back. Mason and Woods zip-line and smash through a window and kill a few Russians and finally receive Weaver. They go on to the Auxiliary Control bunker, with hopes to abort the launch. They fight their way to the missile and Mason detonates the room with the scientist killing them, but failure to stop the missile, but mason uses the guided missile to destroy it. As they can't stay in the open they move to the tunnels, with plans of still killing the ascension group. As the mission comes to an end, Kravtchenko escaped and there was no sign of Dragovich as mason says "We searched the whole base, we couldn't find the bastard anywhere." But they ran into his limo and the interrogator asks "Did. You. Confirm. The Kill." and Woods says "Trust me... That rat bastard's a fucking charcoal briquette." And his part ends.

Woods returns as SOG's leader in Khe Sanh, Vietnam, and fights along with Jason Hudson against an attack from the NVA.

In one of the final levels, when Woods and Mason are attempting to kill Kravchenko, Mason is brutally beaten while Woods, sneaking up behind Kravchenko, stabs him in the back. As he is dying, Kravchenko pulls a string attached to the pins of the four grenades strapped to his body. Thinking quickly, Woods tackles Kravchenko out of the window, apparently sacrificing himself to save Mason as the grenades explode. Woods is presumed killed, both by Mason and later by Hudson and Weaver during their interrogation of him. Although he is said to be dead, a mysterious person codenamed "X" has stated the Woods is being held in a Vietnamese POW camp over a computer (accessible when the player escapes the chair on the menu screen).

Quotes

 * "You see that Hind? We're gonna take it!" - Woods to Mason in the mission "Payback".
 * "Here, take this. Stay hunting, we'll find Kravtchenko. You make it out of there alive." - Woods giving Mason the flashlight in "Victor Charlie".
 * "Your bird!" - Woods, announcing that Mason has control of the Helicopter.
 * "UV-32 Rockets, 12mm Nose Cannon, these bastards are ready for World War III." - Woods checking the Hind's armament.
 * "Mason we need to go!" - Woods yelling to Mason
 * "Looks don't count for shit in the jungle. This is 'Nam, baby!" - Woods to Mason
 * "Back in '64, the CIA gave up control of covert operations in South-East Asia... handed it over to the US military. From that, MACV-SOG was born. Now aside from being a base for the Marine Corps, Khe Sanh is our launching point for all cross-border activities. Mostly Laos and Cambodia. Missions are S&D, sabotage, black propaganda, strategic reconnaissance, POW rescue; You know, the old shit." - Woods speaking to Mason.
 * "Bowman, point! Let's move!" - Woods speaking after he gives a flashlight to Mason.
 * "An animal feeding on his own men's deaths. All he wants is to win, even if that means killing his men..." -Woods to Mason when he asks about Kravtchenko.
 * "Bird assigned. My stick."
 * "I'll take her up above the canopy, then hand over the stick."- Woods in Payback
 * "I'll call out targets as I see 'em. All enemy targets are valid, understand? We have coordinates to Kravtchenko's compound. We follow the river all the way."- Woods in Payback
 * "Good job. That's the last bird those bastards bring down!" - Woods to Mason after they neutralize the SAM sites.
 * "Let me fill in the blanks for you." - Woods to Hudson
 * "Those barrels full of napalm?" - Woods to Pvt. Groves
 * "YOU CAN'T KILL ME!!!" - Woods to a Vietcong during the Russian Roulette
 * "For Bowman!" - Woods to Mason at Payback after you kill The Russian Roulette Interrogator

Trivia

 * Woods has "Sergeant", his military rank, tattooed on his left arm.
 * In the level Operation 40 Woods is seen with no tattoos, in the level Executive Order he has a few of them, one of them reading "115", although in SOG and the levels after, "115" is changed to "SOG TOUGH".
 * Woods and PFC. Allen are the only characters that are part of multiple factions at the same time in the Call of Duty series.
 * Woods also has a tattoo on his right arm saying "Semper Fidelis", which is Latin for "Always Faithful" which is the motto of the USMC, confirming that he is from the Marines.
 * The CAR-15 Commando seems to be one of Woods preferred weapons as he is seen wielding it in many game images.
 * Players who buy the Hardened or Prestige edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops will get an exclusive Woods avatar outfit.
 * Despite Mason being a Captain, Woods is in command of the SOG team that Mason joins. Therefore, Woods issues orders to Mason.
 * In the computer accessible from the game's main menu there is a message to Mason from an individual who goes by the name of "X". It is dated July 4, 1978 and states that Woods is alive and the sole remaining American at the Hanoi Hilton (North Vietnam's largest POW camp). This may hint at a mission to rescue Woods in a sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops, or a DLC.
 * In Operation 40, Woods says "God bless you, Carlos," this could mean Woods is a Christian or is at least religious.
 * It is thought that Woods is fluent in Russian, as in the 4th mission in the campaign, two Russians come to Woods and speak Russian to him, he then responds in Russian. He responds a bit quick, though, like he's trying to get out of the situation.