Shepherd


 * For the Call of Duty Major, see Sheppard.

"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."

- General Shepherd's last words. "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."

- Shepherd discussing the military might of the United States of America, during the briefing of Team Player "It's been a tough week, gentlemen. We've lost more than ever dreamed. But we will recover. I've got a blank check. And we're gonna use every cent of it killin' Makarov. Despite what the world may say, we are not savages, we don't kill civilians. We use precision. There's an evil man hiding in these shadows and we're gonna bring him into the light. Once his face is revealed, we will write history, gentlemen."

- Shepherd in a speech to Task Force 141 during the briefing of Loose Ends

Lieutenant General Hershel von Shepherd III was an officer in the United States Army in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 who commanded both 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.

Biography
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, General Shepherd can always be seen wearing a black Lieutenant General (3 Star Flash) "Inspection ready" beret. For an outfit, he can be seen wearing a ACU camouflage military uniform, and on the chest area, on the right he has a name-tag sewed on that reads "SHEPHERD" and on the left one stitched on reads "U.S. ARMY", and on the shoulders he wears the JFK Special Warfare School insignia. Along with that, he wears tan combat boots. Shepherd always carries a leather pouch slung over his left shoulder to hold his .44 Magnum cartridges for his revolver. On his face he has a gray mustache with a gray military buzzcut on his head, indicating his age is somewhere between 50-65.

Second Russian Civil war
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 of an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

Between 2011 and 2016
Losing the 30,000 troops under his command affected the General greatly and Shepherd developed a negative view of the world and international politics. In the time following his invasion of the Persian Gulf, Shepherd sought new ways of restoring the United States' reputation as a global power as well as its military might (and his own reputation as a military commander).

2016
In 2016, General Shepherd focuses his efforts on the occupation of Afghanistan and seemingly, the hunt for international terrorist Vladimir Makarov. Shepherd felt that no justice had been sought for the men and women he had lost 5 years prior and that the military's power had worn over the years. These feelings would eventually drive him to carry out his goal of escalating a second Cold War between Ultranationalist Russia and the United States. To increase the power and standing of the military, Shepherd needed an enemy, something to rally the entire nation behind him. After hearing of his many terrorists attacks throughout Europe, Shepherd believed Russian Ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov could indirectly help bring about his desired changes. Shepherd developed "Task Force 141", an international coalition of counter-terrorism operators, created under the pretense of stopping Makarov. Shepherd hand-picked Joseph Allen to go undercover within Makarov's terrorist group during their attack on Zakhaev International Airport.

Russo-American War
Allen's body was left at the scene and he (along with Makarov) was implicated in the attack, all according to Shepherd's plan. Most importantly, the only individuals who knew of the operation were the men serving in Task Force 141 and Makarov's terrorist cell. The Russian government retaliated and the United States was invaded, and as a result, Shepherd was named supreme commander of all US military forces by the Secretary of Defense for his insight into the threat Russia and Makarov posed, just as he had planned. Shepherd had gotten his war, now he just needed the enemy intelligence. With the full power of the 3.5 million soldiers (as of 2016) of the United States Armed Forces at his fingertips, Shepherd was in a perfect position to bring about his ultimate goals: to make the United States the mightiest power on the planet, and style himself as the hero who made it so by eventually bringing Ultranationalist Russia to its knees. Besides the United States military forces he officially commanded, Shepherd, through unknown means, also acquired the services of the clandestine Shadow Company, which openly operated for Shepherd after Day 6 of the global crisis of 2016.

Betrayal of Task Force 141
Shepherd then starts a second, more personal war, eliminating anyone with knowledge of Joseph Allen and his final op, be they terrorists or members of his own Task Force. Shepherd sends Task Force 141 to recover intelligence pertaining to his scapegoat, Vladimir Makarov. After his men had obtained the intel he needed, he no longer had a need for his Task Force. Shepherd therefore reveals his true colors when he executes Roach and Ghost in the Caucasus Mountains after the latter raid an Ultranationalist safe house and retrieve intelligence that could implicate him, while his Shadow Company men make attempts on the lives of Captain Price, Captain "Soap" MacTavish and the rest of the strike team 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 could bring down Vladimir Makarov himself. Price and MacTavish figured out Shepherd's agenda and infiltrated his base in the Afghan cave system known as Site Hotel Bravo.

Death
After a fierce battle with Soap and Price, Shepherd escapes Site Hotel Bravo with Soap and Price in hot pursuit. After Shepherd's helicopter is shot down by Price, MacTavish and Price's Zodiac plunges into the waterfalls below. Shepherd flees the scene of the crash with some injuries, followed by a dazed John "Soap" MacTavish who attempts to kill Shepherd with his only remaining weapon, a combat knife. Shepherd incapacitates MacTavish, and stabs him in the chest. Just as Shepherd is about to execute John "Soap" MacTavish with his .44 Magnum, John Price tackles Shepherd, causing him to miss his (supposed to be finishing...) shot, and the two are engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Shepherd eventually overpowers Price and gains the upper hand. However, John "Soap" MacTavish regains consciousness in time without Shepherd's knowledge to pull out the knife he had been stabbed with and take aim at Shepherd, throwing it. The knife pierces Shepherd's left eye, killing him. Soap and Price then proceeded to flee the scene with Nikolai (Modern Warfare), leaving Shepherd's body behind.

Voice actor
General Shepherd is voiced by Lance Henriksen. Henriksen worked previously with Keith David (Sgt. Foley) in Mass Effect, providing the voice of Admiral Hackett. This is the second time Henriksen has voiced Keith's superior officer. He has played Charles Bishop Weyland in the Alien vs Predator film and has appeared in over 100 other films.

Quotes
"I lost 30,000 men in a blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin' watched."

Trivia

 * When Shepherd betrays Roach and Ghost in the level "Loose Ends", when he shoots Roach the sound from his .44 Magnum sounds like a Desert Eagle, and when he shoots Ghost the sound is an Intervention. This was most likely done for dramatic effect.
 * When he is pinned down with Hunter 2-3 in "Team Player", he can be seen using an M4A1. This is the only time in the game that he uses a weapon other than his .44 Magnum.
 * Shepherd only fires his .44 Magnum three times in the whole game, and only one shot has the original gunshot audio.
 * He is the first enemy antagonist in the Call of Duty series to be an American.
 * In the last page of the comic book Modern Warfare 2: Ghost, the Task Force 141 member who finds Ghost looks similar to General Shepherd without a mustache. It would be natural for him to be Shepherd, as he is the unit commander.
 * By noclipping out of Endgame, the player can see that the throwing knife actually hit Shepherd between his eyes, but the game makes it seem like it hit his left eye.
 * At the end of Team Player, if player throws flashbang as soon as reaching Shepherd, he will start walking around with his both hands out, like he's holding a rifle.
 * Him and Zakhaev have both been a shot away from killing Soap, but thanks to Captain Price, Soap has a chance to kill each of them.
 * Shepherd's name may be a reference to the term "A shepherd leading sheep to slaughter", since Shepherd used Task Force 141 to advance his own agenda, but when the time came he eliminated Ghost and Roach.
 * It is actually possible to kill Shepherd in the mission S.S.D.D. when he is observing the player run the pit, but if the player kills him, he will get the friendly fire penalty.