Task Force 141 (Original)

"Welcome to the 141. Best handpicked group of warriors on the planet."

- General Shepherd to Private First Class Joseph Allen

Task Force 141, colloquially referred to as the "One-Four-One," is a multinational special operations force composed of the best members of the American, Australian, British, Canadian and possibly other armed forces, usually those with previous Spec-Ops experience. Its members serve as the principal protagonists of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, where their main objective is to apprehend or kill Vladimir Makarov, a Russian Ultranationalist responsible for masterminding a Russian invasion of the United States. In 2016, its members participated in notable special operations in Kazakhstan, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, a Russian Gulag and submarine base on Kamchatka, the Georgian-Russian border, and Afghanistan. Notably, during Day 6 of the crisis of 2016, at least two Task Force 141 operators were killed by General Shepherd, with all of Task Force 141 members believed to be on the run at the conclusion of the crisis.

Composition
Task Force 141's operators are drawn from the special operations forces of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, although the majority of its operators appear to be either American or British. The specific units that contribute operators to Task Force 141 are unknown. However, it is likely that American operators are drawn from the various USSOCOM units, and Joseph Allen is known to have originated from the 75th Ranger Regiment. Likewise, British operators are known to come from the Special Air Service and likely the Special Boat Service as well. Operators from Canada and Australia are most likely drawn from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR), Joint Task Force 2 and other commando units from CANSOFCOM and the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, respectively.

During the events of Modern Warfare 2, the commanding officer of Task Force 141 appears to be Lieutenant General Shepherd, a U.S. Army officer who spearheads the Task Force's operations. Additionally, British officers of the Special Air Service such as Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley serve as leaders during field missions. After his liberation from a Russian gulag, Captain John Price of the Special Air Service also apparently serves as a field commander.

Task Force 141 has at least eighty-five known members, leading to speculation that it is a company-sized formation.



Prominent Members

 * Lieutenant General Shepherd (STATUS: KIA) - United States Army, appears to act as the commanding officer of Task Force 141, and spearheads its operations during the crisis of 2016. He is killed by Captain "Soap" MacTavish in Afghanistan on Day 7.
 * Captain John Price (STATUS: Alive) - British 22nd Special Air Service regiment, appears to act as a field commShepherd.PNG after being rescued from a Russian gulag by Task Force 141. Designated sharpshooter, and orchestrator behind Shepherd's assassination. Now he is a wanted criminal after his actions in Afghanistan.
 * Captain "Soap" MacTavish (STATUS: Alive) - British 22nd Special Air Service regiment, appears to act as a field commander and designated sharpshooter. He is now a wanted criminal after killing General Shepherd.
 * Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley (STATUS: KIA) - British Special Air Service, technical specialist and field commander subordinate to Captain MacTavish. Condones torture as a method of interrogation. He is killed by General Shepherd and Shadow Company soldiers on the Georgian-Russian border.
 * Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson (STATUS: KIA) - Playable character who participates in a number of Task Force 141's most notable special operations. Killed by Shepherd and Shadow Company soldiers on the Georgian-Russian border on Day 6.
 * Private First Class Joseph Allen (STATUS: KIA) - U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment, a veteran of combat operations in Afghanistan, hand-picked by Shepherd to participate in a CIA undercover operation to infiltrate the Ultranationalist cell led by Makarov. Killed by Makarov after his cover is blown in Zakhaev International Airport on Day 3.

Supporting Members
Ethnicity might be random for the less significant characters. * Indicates randomly-generated name in other levels.


 * Archer (STATUS: Unknown) – British soldier, sniper team leader, seen in "Loose Ends."
 * Chemo (STATUS: KIA) - A soldier who usually dies while attempting to escape with Soap, Ghost, Roach, and Rocket in "The Hornet's Nest."*
 * Driver (STATUS: KIA) – American/Australian Soldier, team wheelman, seen in "Takedown" and killed by Rojas' assistant.
 * Meat (STATUS: KIA) – Either Canadian or Australian/American soldier, Portuguese interpreter, dies close to the beginning of "Takedown."
 * Ozone (STATUS: KIA) – Canadian soldier dies at the end of "Loose Ends."*
 * Robot (STATUS: Unknown) – British soldier seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday."*
 * Rocket (STATUS: KIA) – A soldier who accompanied MacTavish, Ghost, Roach, and Chemo in their escape from the Favela in "The Hornet's Nest,"
 * Rook (STATUS: KIA) – Australian soldier, killed in "The Enemy Of My Enemy" while driving Soap and Price to safety.
 * Royce (STATUS KIA) – Canadian soldier who is temporarily XO to MacTavish, takes charge of Task Force 141 elements in the Favela, killed during the events of "Takedown."
 * Scarecrow (STATUS: KIA) – American soldier (American accent, randomized appearance), dies at the end of "Loose Ends."
 * Toad (STATUS: Unknown) – American soldier, sniper and heavy weapons specialist, seen in "Loose Ends."
 * Worm (STATUS: Unknown) – American soldier; asks "Who's Soap?" in "The Gulag," successfully extracted, probably WIA.*
 * Zach (STATUS: Unknown) – American soldier seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday."
 * Peasant (STATUS: KIA) – British soldier seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday."*

Note: It is likely that most if not all of the Task Force 141 operatives are KIA, if not imprisoned. The Task Force was decommissioned and its members were labeled "war criminals" after Shepherd executed the strike team in "Loose Ends."

Note: They are still part of the Task Force.



Other Members
These members are randomly generated or do not do anything notable. (* Indicates rarely generated names. It is unknown if the rarity has any significance.)
 * Aeon* – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Ahriman* – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Angel – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "The Gulag"
 * Apex – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "The Gulag"
 * Ares- Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Avatar – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "The Gulag"
 * Bear* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Bearcat – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," "The Gulag," and "Contingency"
 * Bishop – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Boomer – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," "The Gulag," and "Contingency"
 * Boxer- Seen in "The Gulag", "Contingency" and "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Bull* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Canine – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest" and "Contingency"
 * Cannibal – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Cell - Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Chemist – Seen in "The Gulag" and "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Cherub – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Chino – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Chrome - Seen in "The Gulag" Special-ops-soldier.jpg
 * Coffin – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Coma – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest" and "Loose Ends"
 * Cypher – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest" and "The Gulag"
 * Cyrus*- Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Cyclops – Seen in "Contingency," and "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," and "The Gulag"
 * Diablo* – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Doc – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest", "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", "The Gulag", and "Contingency"
 * Druid – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Elder* – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Exxon – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "Contingency"
 * Echo - Seen in "The Hornets Nest"
 * Flux* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Gator – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Hacker- Seen in "Contingency"
 * Hannibal – Seen in "Loose Ends" and "The Gulag"
 * Hazard – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," and "The Gulag"
 * Hercules* – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Hitman – Seen in "Loose Ends"
 * Jayhawk – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest", "Loose Ends" and "The Gulag"
 * Jester – Seen in "Loose Ends," "Contingency," and "The Gulag"
 * Justice – Seen in "Loose Ends"
 * Kahuna* – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Klepto – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Kojak – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Knight* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Kuhn -- Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "The Gulag"
 * Langley – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Liquid* – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Lord* – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Mamba – Seen in "The Gulag," "Loose Ends," and "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Messiah* – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Midnight – Seen in "Contingency", "The Gulag", "Loose Ends", and "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Monk* – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Neon – Seen in "The Gulag" and "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Neptune – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", and "Contingency"
 * Nomad – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * November* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Origin* - Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," and "Contingency."
 * Ogre – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", "The Hornet's Nest", and "Loose Ends"
 * Patron – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," and "The Gulag"
 * Pharaoh – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Phoenix* – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Pieces – Seen in " The Hornet's Nest", "The Gulag", and "Loose Ends"
 * Poet – Seen in "The Gulag" and in the end of "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Preacher – Seen in "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Prophet* – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Reaper* – Seen in "The Gulag," "The Hornet's Nest", "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and in "Loose Ends"
 * Redcell – Seen in "The Gulag and "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Roadie – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Rooster – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," "The Gulag," and "Contingency"
 * Sandman – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Shadow – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Sorrow* – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Contingency"
 * Sparrow – Seen in "The Gulag" and "Loose Ends"
 * Spirit* – Seen in "Contingency"
 * Spectre* – Seen in "Loose Ends," "Contingency," and "The Gulag"
 * Taco – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," "Contingency", The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", and "The Gulag"
 * Thumper- Seen in "The Hornet's Nest," "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," "The Gulag," and "Contingency"
 * Trojan – Seen in "Contingency", "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", and "The Gulag"
 * Twister – Seen in "The Gulag," "Contingency," and "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Undertone – Seen in "The Gulag," and "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Undertaker* – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"
 * Utah – Seen in "The Gulag" and "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday"
 * Vulture - Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Whiskey – Seen in "Contingency" and "The Hornet's Nest," and "The Gulag"
 * Whisper – Seen in "Loose Ends"
 * Yankee – Seen in "The Gulag" and "The Hornet's Nest," and "Contingency"
 * Zero – Seen in "The Gulag"
 * Zeus* – Seen in "The Hornet's Nest"

Assault Rifles

 * M4A1
 * SCAR-H
 * ACR
 * TAR-21
 * M16A4

Submachine Guns/ Machine Pistols

 * UMP45
 * G18


 * Vector
 * MP5k
 * P90 (Spec Ops)

Machine Guns

 * M240

Shotguns

 * M1014
 * W1200

Sniper Rifles

 * M14 EBR
 * Intervention

Handguns

 * M9
 * USP .45
 * M1911 (used only by Price, MacTavish and Ghost )

Launchers

 * Javelin
 * AT4

Trivia

 * Most Task Force 141 Soldiers strangely have AK-47 Magazines in their front ammo pouch, a gun which they never use. Also, the AK-47 Magazines seem to have holes on top of them as if the magazines were textured off an airsoft gun.
 * As an irregular military unit, most of the named members go by callsigns, such as Roach, Meat, Ghost, etc. This would most likely have been done to preserve the identities of the operatives, as they most likely did not 'exist' on records of any kind. It also appears that members with a higher rank like Captain, don't have a callsign, like Captain John "Soap" MacTavish or Captain John Price. "Soap" is not a 141 callsign because Soap had the nickname before joining the Task Force 141.
 * Most Task Force members wear gray fleece jackets, chest rigs, MICH-2000 helmets, and different camouflage trousers with their country's flag patch on their shoulder.
 * Whilst the British, Americans, and Australians have their flags in their colors and on their shoulder patches, the Canadians have their flag on their back in green, not red and white, much like modern Canadian soldiers.
 * Despite the random appearances and nationalities of Task Force 141 whilst in Brazil, Canadians are the only ones with fixed appearances, they wear olive green clothing with short sleeved shirts, whilst British, Americans, and Australians have a mix and match.
 * The fate of the surviving Task Force 141 members still remains unknown after the incident with Soap and Captain Price. They are most likely fugitives as well, avoiding Shepherd, since Captain Price radioed the message about Shepherd's standing in the conflict. Rook is the last seen member besides Soap and Price, and is quickly killed off.
 * The picture of Task Force 141 (see below) at the end of the game is based on the picture at the end of "Mile High Club" in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * The symbol of Task Force 141 seems to be a mix of symbols of the SAS and USSOCOM, though the background symbol more greatly resembles a spade and not a SOCOM spear.
 * Some of the names on the list above are codenames given to members of the Raptor team from Crysis. These names include Nomad, Jester, and Prophet.
 * The generated members of Task Force 141 have the exact same AI as any other enemy or character in the game, the only difference being health and weapon choice.
 * If looked at closely, the Rangers in the picture have the M4 Carbines with the same appearance as Modern Warfare.
 * The picture below would be canon if it were not for the presence of Captain Price, seeing that Task Force 141 was at the firebase and is talked about by multiple Rangers. However, the image of Price seems photoshopped compared to his surroundings.
 * In the reveal trailer, there is a member with Soap ready to interrogate and torture Rojas's assistant, however, he doesn't appear in the actual game and Ghost takes his place.
 * Task Force 141 is the only faction to face all the enemy factions, the Spetsnaz, Militia, and OpFor, in multiplayer.
 * Task Force 141 apparently doesn't follow the Geneva Convention due to the torture methods used on Rojas and his assistant.
 * When playing online, a player will sometimes see that his teammate or enemy's character can be randomly generated to look like Ghost depending on who's on the Task Force. This will sometimes occur if the player is the enemy of the SEALs in Sub Base or any other online map that includes the SEALs.
 * Choosing an LMG in multiplayer will make the player spawn with an Australian flag, while choosing an SMG or a Sniper Rifle or an Assault Rifle will make the player model will generate with a British or American flag.
 * It is interesting to note there is no Canadian Task Force 141 models in multiplayer despite models being in singleplayer.
 * Before the player unlocks the Ghillie suit, Task Force 141 sniper models will always spawn with an American flag. This can be seen in 3rd person gamemodes.
 * It's interesting to note that the picture on the bottom doesn't show some of the major characters of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. E.g. Shepherd.
 * Another strange fact is that even though that Task Force 141 is supposed to be 'the best troops', all non-major troops have the same health, weapon skill, and agility as other AI enemies. It is also a known a fact that in some occasions, Task Force 141 have worse stats than other AI. This is has led to them dying very frequently, in complete contrast to their "elite" appearance in cutscenes.
 * In nearly every trailer for Modern Warfare 2, the Task Force 141 symbols and tags on character's uniforms are replaced with the S.A.S.'s.
 * Interestingly, such task forces do or have existed in the real world, but are usually Joint Task Forces such as task forces 121 and 145, and nowhere near as "Hollywood" as they are portrayed in the game.
 * In multiplayer, Ghost is the announcer for Task Force 141.
 * All the main non-playable characters of Task Force 141, Soap, Price and Ghost, have blue eyes.
 * The Task Force 141 may be disbanded after the events of Modern Warfare 2.
 * Some of the rarely generated random names could be references to other video games. For example, Kahuna and Jester are characters in SOCOM: US Navy SEALs, Liquid may be a reference to Liquid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and Sorrow may be a reference to The Sorrow from Metal Gear Solid 3.
 * It's safe to assume that the majority of Task Force 141 members hold the rank of Sergeant (NATO OR-5) or higher, which makes it very odd that PFC. Allen was recruited to TF141. Though this may have been done on purpose by Shepherd, as an experienced soldier may have seen through his plot. Or Shepherd could have picked him simply because he (probably) spoke Russian (if he didn't it wouldn't make much sense for him to have infiltrated into Makarov's circle), as well was being a PFC, which in the general's mind could have made him viewed as expendable.
 * Task Force 141 (along with the Heartbeat sensor) is jokingly referenced in a conversation between two characters in the 2010 video game Battlefield: Bad Company 2. After discovering the team has to go on a hunt for an HVT, Sarge says, "I should clear this with Braidwood," to which Sweetwater replies, "No! No, no, no!  He'll just send some special ops douchebags, with pussy-ass heartbeat monitors on their guns, instead of us!"
 * Task Force 141 is the most used faction in multiplayer, appearing on the maps Afghan, Carnival (Map), Crash, Derail, Estate, Favela, Quarry, Overgrown, Rundown, Rust, Salvage, Scrapyard, Storm, Underpass, and Wasteland.
 * In The Hornet's Nest Nikolai asks where he should bring the team. "Soap" answers "just bring us to the sub" which probably means their HQ is a submarine. This is confirmed in 'No Russian', where the cutscene shows General Shepherd's location, is on a submarine, Shepherd is the commander of TF141 so this theory is true.

Afterward
It is questionable to know if the rest of the task force was either hunted down and eliminated. Or if the task force retired, presumably after the events in Modern Warfare 2 John "Soap" Mactavish, John Price, and Nikolai go into hiding (Since they are wanted world-wide). After these events it is safe to say that TF 141 will not make an entrance in Modern Warfare 3.