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 should've 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."

Lieutenant General Shepherd is an officer in the United States Army in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that commanded 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. He is voiced by Lance Henriksen.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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 detonated a nuclear weapon in the capital city. 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 to destroy the Ultranationalists who had killed his men in an act of nuclear terrorism, as well as spark a restoration of American power and influence around the world, something he felt had waned in recent years as evidenced by America's and the rest of the world's lack of response to the obvious threat of the Ultranationalists, being weary of suffering such extensive losses again. Shepherd's warnings of the coming of the second Cold War with Russia went unnoticed, leaving him disillusioned with no apparent justice for the men he had lost and no means of effectively countering the terrorist threats present in the world without the full military might of America for him to use, something he had not been in control of since the failed attempts to defeat America's enemies in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

To accomplish this, Shepherd needed an enemy, something to rally the entire nation behind him. After many terrorists attacks throughout Europe, Shepherd believed Russian Ultranationalist extremist Vladimir Makarov could indirectly help bring the recruitment plan into play. Shepherd becomes the commanding officer of Task Force 141 with the intent of stopping Makarov and handpicks Joseph Allen to be an undercover agent. Shepherd's plan progresses as Allen's position was compromised by Makarov after the massacre at Zakhaev International Airport. As a result, the United States was invaded, and in response, Shepherd is named supreme commander of all US military forces around the globe by the Secretary of Defense for his insight of the threat Russia posed, just as he had planned. With the full power of the 3.5 million soldiers (as in 2016) of the United States 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 United States Military soldiers to be part of his Shadow Company. Their goal is to do General Shepherd's bidding no matter what.

Shepherd would soon start a second, personal war, deploying Task Force 141 to recover intelligence pertaining to his scapegoat, Vladimir Makarov. Shepherd eventually reveals his true colors when he executes Roach and Ghost 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 the task force in an attempt to destroy any link to his treacherous actions and so that he can bring down Vladimir Makarov himself. 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 pursuit. After having his helicopter shot down, MacTavish and Price's speed boat plunges into the water falls below. Shepherd survives the crash as 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. Just as Shepherd attempts to execute MacTavish with his .44 Magnum, Price tackles Shepherd, causing him to miss the shot, and the two get into a hand-to-hand fight. MacTavish begins to drift in and out of consciousness and only sees bits and pieces of the fight. Shepherd eventually overpowers Price and gains the upper hand. However, MacTavish regains consciousness and removes the knife from his chest. He then throws it into Shepherd's left eye, killing him instantly.

Quotes
"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 biggest stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it. This is a time for heroes. A time for legends. History is written by the victors. Let's get to work."

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

- Shepherd telling Joseph Allen to go with the rest of the 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."

- Shepherd before attempting to execute "Soap" MacTavish at the end of Endgame

"Do you have the DSM? Good, that's one less loose end."

Trivia



 * General Shepherd wears JFKSWCS (John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School) patches. This would normally mean that he is the head of the school, though why he has one as a deployment patch is a mystery. Since it is a school, it hardly ever deploys personnel.
 * If you look closely at the picture to the right, it shows Shepherd's character model without the revolver in the holster. This is and Endgame where Shepherd also reloads his revolver is the only time this happens.


 * When he is pinned down with Hunter 2-3 in Team Player, he can be seen using an M4A1. This is the only time he is seen with a firearm other than his revolver.
 * It could be noticed from the picture that he holds the M4A1 as if it were an unequipped rifle, while ignoring the foregrip.


 * It is unknown why Shepherd is selected as the U.S. Supreme Commander as he is only a Lieutenant General. Normally a Four Star General would have been given that honor, but, as stated when the Secretary of Defense promotes him to Supreme Commander, his warnings of the Ultranationalists went unnoticed until they instigated a war. Only then did America listen and in order to make it up to him for his insight the government gave him the position and the blank check. Given, the senior Cabinet's whereabouts are unknown and the general disorganized state of the U.S. military may have left Shepherd the only high-ranking officer left available at the time. It is interesting to note that despite his new rank as Supreme Commander which would make him a five-star general, Shepherd still wears his Lieutenant General or three star general ranking marks.




 * Shepherd is a man known by his men for not caring about the safety of his soldiers, especially during artillery fires, as Cpl. Dunn and Captain Price both say, "Since when does Shepherd care about danger close?" As seen in the picture on the right, he doesn't concern himself much with his own safety either, which could largely be a part of painting himself as a hero in the eyes of his troops by sending the message that he is willing to die with his men.


 * Despite being a high-ranking officer who is rarely in battle and approaching old age, Shepherd still possesses great skill in hand-to-hand combat, which is shown when he counters Soap's attack on him, and when he engages Price in a fist fight. It should be noted that both men were S.A.S. soldiers, soldiers famous all around the world as being a model by which all modern special forces units base themselves off of. This begs the question of what units Shepherd must have been a part of in his youth to have acquired such skills that he could take on two such highly trained soldiers, especially after having survived a helicopter crash, though it should be noted Price and Soap were injured as well.


 * 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 and reveals his true motives.


 * His catchphrase, "history is written by the victors," though commonly attributed to Winston Churchill, is actually of an unknown origin.


 * Throughout the storyline, the player has a tendency to be looking up at Shepherd from the ground. This could be a reference to the amount of power and influence that Shepherd has in the military. In both instances where this occurs Shepherd also reloads his revolver above the player, further symbolizing power.




 * General Shepherd is voiced by Lance Henriksen. Henriksen worked previously with Keith David (Sgt. Foley) in Mass Effect, providing the voice of Admiral Hackett. Coincidentally, this is also the second time Henriksen has voiced Keith's superior officer.
 * Shepherd can be killed in the second mission. During the fight he jumps up on a ridge and walks away from the battle looking behind his back. When he does this, shoot him in the back and he will go down. He later shows up at the end of the mission. Strangely, at the end of the mission if Shepherd is shot in the head before he mentions Task Force 141, he will pose as if he were holding an assault rifle, although no rifle is there.Shepherd's_death.jpg
 * When Shepherd shoots Roach In Loose Ends, his first shot from his revolver sounds like that of the Desert Eagle. However, when he shoots Ghost the sound effect is that of an Intervention shot, presumably for more dramatic sounds.
 * Shepherd only fires his .44 Magnum three times in the whole game, and only one shot has the original gunshot audio.
 * During the events of Modern Warfare 2, Shepherd seems to be leading the United States Army, Navy and Air Force, despite being a three-star Army General. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for an Army General to be in control of a joint operation that involves other factions of the U.S. military, given his history of controlling many thousands of Marines during the events of Shock and Awe, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he would be given control of other factions.
 * It is probable that Shepherd's failure to stop the nuke and the Ultranationalists 5 years ago must have affected his image in the military community. It is shown that Shepherd has some troops in his ranks that feel like he doesn't care for their personal safety, which is justified as he risks hurting his troops and actually kills them with artillery fire at two points in the game, it is probable that him allowing soldiers to continue going after Al-Asad with the threat of a nuke present might have been where his reputation for not caring about his troops began. On that note such irresponsible behavior on an officer's part would usually lead to them being demoted, court marshaled, or at worse discharged from the military, and yet no such mention of anything like that happening to Shepherd is made.
 * Shepherd is known as 'Gold Eagle' on the Shadow Company radio.
 * Shepherd Mostly Might Of Killed Ghost And Roach For Captain Price Not Following Shepherd's Orders

Videos
thumb|400px|left|Extended Endgame Mission, where MacTavish has a final conversation with Shepherd.thumb|right|400px|The General betraying and killing Ghost and Roach