James Ramirez

Private James Ramirez is a playable character and the main protagonist of the invasion campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Ramirez is introduced in the mission Wolverines! serving alongside Sergeant Foley and Dunn in the 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Two-One. Ramirez is presumably Joseph Allen's replacement, as Allen was recruited into Task Force 141.

Ramirez and his squad respond to a Russian invasion and move into Virginia. They then help friendly troops extract Raptor, and then go on to Arcadia to rescue trapped civilians with the help of a Stryker armored vehicle codenamed Honey Badger.

After destroying AA batteries threatening the civilians, the Rangers move to a devastated Washington D.C., where U.S. troops are fighting a desperate battle against superior Russian forces. Hunter Two-One assault and attempts to clear Department of Commerce, buying the evacuation site valuable time. They board a UH-60 Black Hawk and assault Russian ground forces, only to get shot down by SAM sites on the Department of Justice building. After their helicopter crashes, Ramirez finds himself trapped in the Blackhawk with injuries and the squad is swarmed by Russian forces. As they run out of ammo, Dunn is wounded, and several squads of enemy soldiers assault their position while a nearby Havoc helicopter blinds the surviving Rangers with its searchlight.

All seems lost until an ICBM launched by Captain Price detonates in Earth's atmosphere, over Washington. The resulting EMP knocks the enemy Havoc and other aircraft out of the sky. The Rangers help Ramirez out of the helicopter and retreat with his squad into a nearby building while the crashing planes kill the attacking troops. After encountering a friendly runner who tells them to get to Whiskey Hotel, they fight their way through some office buildings. Despite heavy resistance from the Russian forces, they eventually regroup at Whiskey Hotel, where U.S. stragglers under the command of Colonel Marshall. Marshall orders the squad to proceed into Whiskey Hotel and they fight through heavy Russian forces. After fighting through the desperate Russian troops, Ramirez and another Ranger take point and make their way to the roof. They wave green signal flares to call off the friendly airstrikes. He then sees other green flares on other buildings across the ruined Washington D.C.

Trivia

 * James Ramirez and Cpt. MacTavish are the only playable characters that are not scripted to die in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * The 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment that Ramirez is a part of is based at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, so it is possible that his unit is the closest unit to Virgina. This is because 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment is based at FT. Benning, Georgia and 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment is based in FT. Lewis, Washington.
 * He is most likely of Latin American descent, which could make him the first playable Latino and the fourth Latino soldier in the Call of Duty series, The others being Vasquez, Dela Rosa, and Castillo.
 * While his gloves are torn and wrist-mounted GPS device cracked during the helicopter crash, and remain so during the events of Second Sun, they seemingly repair themselves at the start of Whiskey Hotel. Even if he changed, his GPS should not be working due to the EMP.
 * Throughout the game, Sgt. Foley frequently issues orders to Ramirez, starting an internet meme about everything Ramirez has to do ("Ramirez, DO EVERYTHING!").
 * In the beginning of Wolverines!, there is a picture of a woman in the Humvee Ramirez is riding, possibly hinting that it may be his or the driver's (Cpl. Dunn) girlfriend or wife.
 * It is possible that Ramirez can be heard speaking in Wolverines!. When the UAV is shot down, someone can be heard yelling, "Someone just took down our Predator! Be Advised! The Predator is offline! I repeat, the Predator is offline!" Although in the subtitles the speaker is listed as "Ranger," it's a possibility that this could be Ramirez speaking, as the player is able to hear it even if no one else is around.

Appearances

 * (1 game)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (First appearance)