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, U.S. Army Rangers and Shadow Company. He is 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 COD4.

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 of war. 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, marking the start of World War III 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 2.5 million soldiers 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 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 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 and his task force, 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 Shepherd gains the upper hand MacTavish removes the knife from his chest and throws it at Shepherd's face--killing the corrupt general for good.

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."

"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), the Joint Special Operations School located at Ft. Bragg, patches which would normally mean he is the head of the school, though why he has one as a deployment patch is a mystery, since it is a school, as it hardly ever deploys personnel.
 * When he is pinned down with Hunter 2-3 in Team Player, he can be seen using a M4A1. This is the only time he is seen with a firearm other than his revolver.
 * It is unknown why Shepherd is selected as the US supreme commander, as he isn't the highest ranking military general being a Lieutenant General. Normally a high rank general is given that honor, but, as stated when the DoD promotes him to Supreme Commander, his warnings of the Ultranationalists went unnoticed until the they instigated a war. Only then, did they listen and in order to make it up to him for his insight they gave him the position and the blank check. Given that the senior Cabinet's whereabouts are unknown or if they even made it out of Washington DC alive may also have spurred the decision.
 * Shepherd is a man known by his men (Cpl. Dunn and Captain Price said "Since when does Shepherd care about danger close?") for not caring about the safety of his soldiers, especially during artillery fires. As seen in the picture, he doesn't concern himself much with his own safety either.
 * Despite being a high-ranking officer who is rarely in battle and approaching old age, Shepherd possesses 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.
 * 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.
 * It seems likely that Shepherd took part in the Vietnam War as a younger man, as he is battle hardened and experienced in MW2, and is old enough to be a veteran from the 1960's.
 * His catchphrase is "History is written by the victors."
 * 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 backing up the power reference.
 * 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.