Shepherd

"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 along side the Russians, we shoulda known they’d hate us for it. History is written by the victor, and here I am thinking we won. But you bring down one enemy and they find someone even worse to replace him. Locations change, the rationale, the objective. Yesterdays enemies are today’s recruits, train them to fight along side you and pray they don’t eventually decide to hate you for it too."

Lieutenant General Shepherd was an officer in the United States Army in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that commanded Task Force 141 and the U.S. Army. He is voiced by Lance Henriksen.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
General Shepherd served as the supreme commander of the US and coalition military forces in the Middle East during the course of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, including the Marine Force Recon forces killed when Al-Asad detonated a nuclear weapon in the capital city. It was possible he was callsign "Overlord", the voice heard in Shock and Awe. After losing 30,000 troops as a result Shepherd became disenchanted with the world, seeking a way to fully unleash the military might of the United States, as well as spark a restoration of American power and influence around the world, something he felt had waned in recent years.

To accomplish this, Shepherd needed an enemy, something to rally the entire nation behind him. To that end, he began to work with Russian Ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov to sow the seeds. Shepherd becomes the commanding officer of Task Force 141 with the intent of "stopping" Makarov and handpicks Joseph Allen to be an undercover agent. It is later implied that Shepherd revealed Allen's undercover status to Makarov to facilitate a war between Russia and the United States. As a result, the United States is invaded, and in response, Shepherd is named supreme commander of all US military forces around the globe, just as he had planned. With the full power of the US armed forces at his fingertips, Shepherd was in a perfect position to realize his ultimate goals: to make the United States the mightiest power on the planet, and style himself as the hero who made it so. While doing so he procures another team of elite US Military soldiers to be part of his Shadow Company, their goal is to do General Shepherd's bidding no matter what.

Shepherd later deploys Task Force 141 to recover intelligence pertaining to his scapegoat, Vladimir Makarov. Shepherd eventually reveals his true colors when he executes Ghost and Roach in the Caucasus mountains after the latter raid an Ultranationalist safehouse and retrieve intelligence that could implicate him, and attempts to have his Shadow Company men assassinate Captain Price and Captain "Soap" MacTavish in Afghanistan. With his status as a war hero secured, the ruthless officer betrays his Ultranationalist partners, both in an attempt to remove any last link to his treacherous actions and the deaths that resulted from them, and to gain further glory as the man who brought down Makarov. Makarov survives his betrayal, however, and prepares to go into hiding, while Price and MacTavish figure out Shepherd's agenda and attack his base in the Afghan cave system known as Site Hotel Bravo.

Shepherd escapes Site Hotel Bravo with Soap and Price in hot pursuit. After having his helicopter shot down, MacTavish and Price's speed boat plunges into the water falls below. An injured and dazed MacTavish attempts to kill Shepherd with a knife, only for Shepherd to take down MacTavish and stab him in the chest. Shepherd later attempts to execute MacTavish, only for Price to intervene in a hand-to-hand fight. Just as Shepard gains the upper hand due to Price being weakened from plunging off the waterfalls, MacTavish removes the knife from his chest and throws it into Shepherd's left eye socket. Shepherd's death would mean that the US military is now without a commander, yet as long as the truth of the conspiracy remains hidden, his death would have little effect on the rapidly developing US-Russian war.

Quotes
"Get up, Private Allen! Rangers lead the way!"

- Shepherd telling Joseph Allen to go with the rest of the US Army Rangers

"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."

"We're gonna re-write history, gentlemen."

"Since when did Shepherd care about danger close?"

Trivia



 * The United States does not normally allow anyone to become a General of the Army because they have too much power and can rival even the President. However, in times of total war, a General can be given the status by Congress. Only a handfull of Generals have ever been approved.
 * It is unknown why Shepherd is selected as the US supreme commander, as he isnt the highest ranking military general. Normally a high rank general is given that honor.
 * Shepherd was in command of Sergeant Paul Jackson and the USMC 1st Force Recon, however it was not known at the time. Jackson probably didn't know that Shepherd was his CO.
 * Shepherd is a man known by his men (Cpl. Dunn and Captain Price pronounced the exact same sentence at different moments) for not caring about the safety of his soldiers, especially during artillery fires.
 * It is possible that the design for General Shepherd was based of ruthless Generals such as DC Comic's General Wade Eiling and Marvel's General "Thunderbolt" Ross.
 * After you chase down Shepherd, you can see the multiplayer map "Rust" in the background.
 * No matter where you aim the throwing knife it will always land in his eye.
 * When you approach Shepherd, hide behind cover with the barrel and wait a moment, he opens a conversation with you, as long as you don't get too close to him. He says: "You know what they say about revenge... you better be ready to dig two graves... Go ahead and end it. It won't change anything. Hmph... I knew you couldn't do it. You're a good warrior... but you could never take that extra step... to do what was absolutely necessary."
 * His talk before trying to kill Soap is a direct reference to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Because he is talking about the 30,000 USMC troops that were lost when the nuclear weapon detonated. But he is a US Army general so he shouldn't be in charge of Marines.
 * Despite being a high-ranking officer who is rarely in battle, Shepherd seemed to have great skill in hand-to-hand combat, which is shown when he countered Soap's attack on him, and when he engaged Price in a fist fight. Although both Price and Mactavish were already injured from plunging downwards off a waterfall.
 * He is also the first main villain to be American as he is secretly manipulating the storyline from behind the scenes, until he executes Ghost and Roach where he reveals his true motives.
 * Although part of his motivation is based off losing Marines to the nuclear blast in Call of Duty 4, this is inaccurate as an Army officer would never be in command of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. The only way an Army officer could have operational control of a Marine Corps unit would be at the theater/regional level, such as CENTCOM, which is commanded by a full General (four stars), not a Lieutenant General (three stars). It is possible he was demoted as a result of the nuclear explosion. That would mean he is the second character to be demoted in Call of Duty, that being Guzzo
 * Lance Henriksen is a veteran sci-fi actor, whose resume includes roles in Aliens and The Terminator. He also voices Admiral Hackett in Mass Effect (the main character in Mass Effect is also named Shepherd) and Master Gnost-Dural for the Galactic Timeline on BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic website.
 * There is also a General Sheppherd in Call of Duty Classic.