Shepherd


 * For the Call of Duty Major, see Sheppard.

"It's been a tough week, gentlemen. We've lost more than ever dreamed. But we will recover. I've got a blank check. And we're gonna use every cent of it killin' Makarov. Despite what the world may say, we are not savages, we don't kill civilians. We use precision. There's an evil man hiding in these shadows and we're gonna bring him into the light. Once his face is revealed, we will write history, gentlemen."

- Shepherd in a speech to Task Force 141 during the briefing of Loose Ends "We are the most powerful military force in the history of man. Every fight is our fight. Because what happens over here, matters over there. We don't get to sit one out. Learning to use the tools of modern warfare is the difference between the prospering of your people, and utter destruction. We can't give you freedom. But we can give you the know how to acquire it. And that, my friends, is worth more than a whole army base of steel. Sure it matters who's got the bigger stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it. This is the time for heroes. A time for legends. History is written by the victors. Let's get to work."

- Shephard describing the might of the United States military in the intro to "Team Player". "Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin' watched. Tomorrow there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots. I know you understand."

- General Shephard's last words. "The more things change, the more they stay the same. Boundaries shift, new players step in, but power always finds a place to rest its head. We fought and bled alongside the Russians. We shoulda known they'd hate us for it. History is written by the victor. And here I am, thinking we'd won. But you bring down one enemy and they find someone even worse to replace him. Locations change, the rationale, the objective. Yesterday's enemies are today's recruits. Train them to fight alongside you, and pray they don't eventually decide to hate you for it too."

- Shephard's opening speech in the first cutscene of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Lieutenant General Hershel von Shepherd III was an officer in the United States Army in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 who commanded both Task Force 141 and Shadow Company. He starts out as a supporting character for the player, only to reveal himself as the main antagonist in Modern Warfare 2.

Biography
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, General Shepherd can always be seen wearing a black Lieutenant General (3 Star Flash) "Inspection ready" beret. For an outfit, he can be seen wearing a UCP-patterned Army Combat Uniform; adhering to U.S. Army uniform regulations, a name tape is sewed to the right side of his chest reading "SHEPHERD", while the left side has a branch tape sewed on, reading "U.S. ARMY", and on the shoulders he wears the JFK Special Warfare School insignia. He also wears desert combat boots with the trousers of the ACU bloused. Notably, General Shepherd wears the same patch as both his unit patch (left side) and combat patch (right side). Shepherd always carries a leather pouch slung over his left shoulder to hold .44 Magnum cartridges for his revolver.

Second Russian Civil war
General Shepherd served as the supreme commander of the U.S. forces in the Middle East during the course of the Second Russian Civil War (see Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), including the Marine Force Recon units killed when Al-Asad gave Vladimir Makarov the order to detonate a nuclear weapon in the capital city of the unnamed Middle Eastern country.

Between 2011 and 2016
Losing the 30,000 troops under his command affected the General greatly and Shepherd developed a negative view of the world and international politics. In the time following his invasion of the Persian Gulf, Shepherd sought new ways of restoring the United States' reputation as a global power as well as its military might (and his own reputation as a military commander).

2016
"Makarov's no prize. He's a whore. A mad-dog killer for the highest bidder."

- Shephard to PFC Joseph Allen about Makarov.

In 2016, General Shepherd focused his efforts on the occupation of Afghanistan and seemingly, the hunt for international terrorist Vladimir Makarov. Shepherd felt that no justice had been sought for the men and women he had lost 5 years prior and that the U.S. military's power had waned over the years. These feelings would eventually drive him to carry out his goal of escalating a war between the new Ultranationalist Russia and the United States of America. To increase the power and standing of the military, Shepherd needed an enemy, something to rally the entire nation behind him. After hearing of so many terrorists attacks throughout Europe, Shepherd believed that Makarov's presence as a mark could indirectly help bring about his desired changes. Shepherd developed "Task Force 141", an international coalition of counter-terrorism operators, created under the pretense of stopping Makarov. He hand-picked Joseph Allen to go undercover within Makarov's terrorist group during their attack on Zakhaev International Airport. Allen, seemingly unaware of Shepherd's intentions, was murdered by Makarov and his body was left behind on the scene. Months before the massacre, Shepherd may have contacted Makarov through several intermediaries, possibly hiring him to conduct the attack in order to escalate tensions between the current Russian government led by Boris Vorshevsky and US government. Shepherd may also have been aware of Makarov's hatred of Vorshevsky and the rising tension between hardliners and moderate factions, exploiting these situations to his advantage to further advance his own goal.

Russo-American War
Russian authorities discovered Allen's body on the scene and confirmed his real identity.This incident prompted an angry response from the Russian people, demanded their government to take drastic measures against United States. They believed despite Makarov and his cell responsible for the massacre, it was United States who sponsored his assault. After receiving tremendous pressure, both from Russian populace and hardliners inside the party, Vorshevsky reluctantly announced a full invasion of the United States, much to Shepherd's delight. As a result, US government appoints him to lead America's defense against Russian forces as well as providing him vast resources to continue his hunt on Makarov. With 3.5 million soldiers at his fingertips, his plan to establish United States as the mightiest force on the planet was now in motion, allowing him to plot his revenge against the Ultranationalist government for nuking over 30,000 of his men in Saudi Arabia five years earlier. While acting as an official commander of US forces, he also secretly acquired Shadow Company, possibly to eliminate any loose ends that ties him back to the massacre and his secret arrangement with Makarov. This faction openly attacked both Task Force 141 and Makarov's men in the sixth day of the conflict resulting the death of operatives Gary "Roach" Sanderson and Simon "Ghost" Riley, forcing 141 operatives to flee from their persecution.

Betrayal of Task Force 141
Shepherd then starts a second, more personal war, eliminating anyone with knowledge of Joseph Allen and his final op, be they terrorists or members of his own Task Force. Shepherd sends Task Force 141 to recover intelligence pertaining to his scapegoat, Vladimir Makarov. After his men had obtained the intel he needed, he no longer had a need for his Task Force. Shepherd therefore reveals his true colors when he executes Roach and Ghost in the Caucasus Mountains after the latter raid an Ultranationalist safe house and retrieve intelligence that could implicate him, while his Shadow Company men make attempts on the lives of Captain Price, Captain "Soap" MacTavish and the rest of the strike team in Afghanistan. With his status as a war hero secured, the ruthless officer betrays the task force in an attempt to destroy any link to his treacherous actions and so that he could bring down Vladimir Makarov himself. Price and MacTavish figured out Shepherd's agenda and infiltrated his base in the Afghan cave system known as Site Hotel Bravo.

Death
After a fierce battle with Soap and Price, Shepherd escapes Site Hotel Bravo with Soap and Price in pursuit. After Shepherd's helicopter is shot down by Price, MacTavish and Price's Zodiac plunges into the waterfalls below. Shepherd flees the scene of the crash with some injuries, followed by a dazed MacTavish who attempts to kill Shepherd with his only remaining weapon, a combat knife. Shepherd incapacitates MacTavish, and stabs him in the stomach. Just as Shepherd is about to execute MacTavish with his .44 Magnum, Price tackles Shepherd, causing him to miss his shot, and the two are engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Shepherd eventually overpowers Price and gains the upper hand. However, MacTavish regains consciousness in time without Shepherd's knowledge to pull out the knife he had been stabbed with and take aim at Shepherd, throwing it. The knife pierces Shepherd's left eye, killing him. Soap and Price then proceeded to flee the scene with Nikolai, leaving Shepherd's body behind.

Shepherd was later laid to rest in.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Shepherd does appear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 however, it is only under mention. A picture of him is shown in the games opening cutscene, he is also mentioned several times by Price and Soap. Additionally, there is an emblem of him in Multiplayer.

Voice actor
General Shepherd is voiced by Lance Henriksen. Henriksen worked previously with Keith David (Sgt. Foley) in Mass Effect, providing the voice of Admiral Hackett. This is the second time Henriksen has voiced Keith's superior officer. He has played Charles Bishop Weyland in the Alien vs Predator film and has appeared in over 100 other films.

Trivia

 * He is the first antagonist in the Call of Duty series to be an American.
 * Shepherd's name may be a reference to the term "A shepherd leading sheep to slaughter", since Shepherd used Task Force 141 to advance his own agenda, but when the time came he eliminated Ghost and Roach.
 * In the last page of the comic book Modern Warfare 2: Ghost, the Task Force 141 member who finds Ghost looks similar to General Shepherd only without a moustache. It is possible that he is Shepherd, because he is the unit commander.
 * It is actually possible to kill Shepherd in the mission S.S.D.D. when he is observing the player run the pit, but if the player kills him, he will get the friendly fire penalty.
 * When he is pinned down with Hunter 2-3 in "Team Player", he can be seen using an M4A1. This is the only time in the game that he uses a weapon other than his .44 Magnum.
 * At the end of Team Player, if player throws flashbang or shoots him as soon as reaching Shepherd, he will start walking around with his both hands out, like he's holding a rifle.
 * When Shepherd betrays Roach and Ghost in the level "Loose Ends", when he shoots Roach the sound from his .44 Magnum sounds like a Desert Eagle, and when he shoots Ghost the sound is an Intervention. This was most likely done for dramatic effect.
 * Shepherd only fires his .44 Magnum three times in the whole game, and only one shot has the original gunshot audio.
 * In Endgame, if you walk in front of him before he gets to the car, he will stand there in front of you like he is holding a gun. When you stand in front of him, if you try and knife him, the movement will happen, but you cannot kill him. You are also able to walk through him.
 * By noclipping out of Endgame, the player can see that the throwing knife actually hit Shepherd between his eyes, but the game makes it seem like it hit his left eye.
 * He and Zakhaev have both been a shot away from killing Soap, but thanks to Captain Price, Soap was able chance to kill each of them.
 * In Endgame, he was hit in the left eye however, in the introduction of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, he is hit in the right eye instead.
 * In the Modern Warfare 3 mission Hunter Killer, there is a magazine on one of the beds in the submarine mentioning Shepherd.
 * A picture of him is seen in the Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops mission, Stay Sharp.
 * Shepherd is first character ally in Call of Duty series to becomes a enemy in a game. This happens since "Loose Ends".
 * In Soap's Journal, Soap refers to Shepard's mustache as a "Caterpillar".
 * In Endgame when the Player is chasing Shepard's Boat you can see him driving the boat.