Gary "Roach" Sanderson

"Break's over, Roach. Let's go."

- Captain "Soap" MacTavish to Roach before their mountain ascent in "Cliffhanger."

Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson is a playable character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He is a member of the multinational Task Force 141, falling under the command of Captain "Soap" MacTavish and operating behind the scenes during the Russian invasion of the United States in 2016. He is the main playable character in Modern Warfare 2.

Biography
Roach’s first appearance is in the level “Cliffhanger,” where he accompanies Captain MacTavish on a mission to infiltrate a Russian-controlled airbase in Kazakhstan. While the two climb the mountains on the base's outskirts, Roach nearly falls to his death before being saved at the last second by MacTavish. The two then approach the base on foot and manage to retrieve a stolen ACS module before escaping on snowmobiles. Shortly afterward, Task Force 141 goes to Rio De Janerio on a mission to capture arms dealer Alejandro Rojas, a contact of Makarov. Roach and the other team members pursue Rojas through the Favela and eventually capture him, only to be swarmed by local Militia. The team then mounts a break out and is able to work their way to the Favela rooftops, where they jump to a waiting helicopter. Roach, however, misses the jump and is forced to make his way back to the helicopter totally unarmed. As the helicopter nearly runs out of fuel, he successfully makes a second jump and is extracted with the rest of the team.

While in Brazil, MacTavish and Ghost were able to extract from Rojas that Makarov has a hate-on for a Prisoner #627, who is being held in a gulag off the coast of Russia. Task Force 141 initiates a two-stage operation to secure the prisoner. It begins with a raid on a Russian oilrig platform armed with SAMs that is guarding the approach to the gulag. Roach and the rest of the Task Force make their way onto the platform via SDVs and proceed to neutralize the majority of hostiles and free the hostages being used as human shields. The Task Force then departs on Little Birds as U.S. Marine forces simultaneously touch down to dismantle the SAMs. The second phase of the operation then proceeds with an assault on the gulag itself. After freeing Prisoner #627, who turns out to be Captain Price, Roach and a small number of other Task Force members manage to extract via SPIE rig as the U.S. Navy destroys the facility. With Price back in the fold, Task Force 141 facilitates his plan to board a Russian submarine and use it to launch a nuclear missile at Washington, D.C. During the assault on the submarine base itself, Roach contributes significantly using an MQ-1 Predator Drone to provide close-air-support. Price is able to board the submarine and put his plan into action, detonating the missile in-flight over Washington and utilizing it as a massive EMP.

U.S. forces in Washington are able to tip the scales in their favor as a result of the blast and save the city from being carpet bombed by the U.S. Air Force. As a result, Task Force 141 turns its main focus to finding and eliminating Makarov. Ghost and Roach lead an attack on one of Makarov’s safe houses on the Georgian-Russian border. Most of the team is killed during an ambush on approach but Roach, Ghost, Ozone and Scarecrow are able to breach and clear the safe house and collect highly valuable intelligence on Makarov. After the DSM with the intelligence finishes downloading, the survivors head for the extraction point and General Shepherd’s forces. On approach, Roach is wounded by a close mortar strike. He comes close to blacking out several times before Ghost comes to his aid. The latter ends up dragging Roach to the extraction point, where Shepherd's forces rout the Ultranationalists. Shepherd emerges from the Pave Low; and asks Ghost if they have the DSM, which Ghost confirms. Shepherd then betrays the two by shooting them both with his .44 Magnum and taking the DSM from Roach's body. Both Ghost and Roach are then taken to a ditch and immolated by Shadow Company members as Shepherd looks on.

Locations
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Task Force 141
 * Kazakhstan - Retrieves a downed ACS module with Soap.
 * Rio de Janiero, Brazil - Takes down Rojas and his assistant, fights through the Favela and barely escapes onto Nikolai's Pave Low.
 * Vikorevkha 36 Oil Platform, Russia - Secures the oil rig. Phase one of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * Petropavslak, Russia - Participates in the assault on the Russian gulag and rescues Prisoner #627 (Captain Price). Phase two of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * 140 miles west of Petropavslak, Russia - Raids a submarine base with Captain Price.
 * Georgian-Russian Border - Raids Makarov's safe house, loads a DSM with intelligence. Betrayed along with Ghost at the extraction point and killed by Shepherd.

Trivia

 * Like his commanding officer Captain MacTavish (known as "Soap" in Modern Warfare), Sanderson has a unique nickname: "Roach."
 * Like "Soap" MacTavish in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, he is saved by his Captain at the last moment before falling to his death.
 * It is possible that Roach has a background in demolitions or combat engineering, as he twice uses C4 explosives to great effect in-game.
 * Roach has probably served in Afghanistan, as every nation that contributes members to Task Force 141 has had a substantial military presence there. He may also have served in Iraq.
 * Roach is the fourth playable character that is scripted to die.
 * Roach's voice can be heard if you make him fall down the cliff in Cliffhanger.
 * Roach most likely wears goggles throughout the whole game, as frost is visible on the screen in Cliffhanger, and petrol seeping downwards when he's doused in Loose Ends.
 * Like most Call of Duty playable characters, his appearance is unknown, however it is possible to tell what he is wearing from his hands and arms:
 * In Kazakhstan, he most likely wears the same clothing as Soap.
 * In Brazil he has long beige sleeves, wearing the same clothes as Ghost.
 * In Russia, he is wearing what the rest of TF141 is wearing: scuba gear.
 * In Russia, he most likely wears the same arctic gear as TF 141.
 * In the Russian/Georgian Mountains he wears the same clothing as Ghost.
 * Roach's arms are also visible on numerous occasions providing a character model. These scenes are:
 * When Roach grabs onto the Pave Low's ladder in The Hornet's Nest.
 * When Roach is pulled out the water onto the oil rig platform during The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday.
 * When Ghost drags a heavily wounded Roach towards the extraction point in Loose Ends.
 * When Roach and Ghost are tossed into a pit by Shadow Company soldiers at the conclusion of Loose Ends.
 * In some Special Ops missions the announcer will call the player "Roach." This is because sound files from the campaign mode are being reused.
 * In early screenshots of The Gulag, Soap can be seen from an angle where Roach's seat on the helicopter is visible. The seat, however, is entirely empty, probably because Infinity Ward did not design an actual character model for playable characters that are never seen, such as Roach and Private Allen. However, the screenshot may be a place holder or early pre-release version due to Soap having American flag patches on his suit, rather than British.
 * In the artbook given with the Hardened and Prestige Editions of the game, there is a picture of a person with arctic gear that looks younger and doesn't really look like Soap. This could possibly be what Roach looks like, but it is most likely just an early concept of Soap.
 * Roach's nationality is never specified.
 * In some Special Ops missions, if the player is really playing as Roach, then it is possible to hear Roach talk when he needs reviving.