Shadow Company

"Shadow Company is a different breed. No more vodka-drunk Ultranationalists. They're trained like we are."

- John "Soap" MacTavish

Shadow Company is an enemy faction encountered at the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ' s campaign, and in one Special Ops mission, "Snatch & Grab".

Campaign
Shadow Company makes its first appearance in "Loose Ends", in the Caucasus Mountains on the Georgian-Russian Border, securing the LZ that Roach and Ghost must get to, who have downloaded a DSM containing vital intel on Makarov. They are briefly shown as allies, until Shepherd, their leader, betrays Roach and Ghost and kills them. A few soldiers help Shepherd get rid of the bodies by pouring gasoline on them and lighting it on fire with Shepherd's cigar.

They next appear in "The Enemy of My Enemy", at an airplane boneyard in Afghanistan, fighting Makarov's Inner Circle. They attempt to kill Soap and Price, but fail. The outcome of this battle is not shown.

They appear last in "Just Like Old Times" and "Endgame", when Soap and Price infiltrate Site Hotel Bravo, their command base, coming for Shepherd's life. They are at first unaware of Soap and Price's appearance, but they find out when many of their men go missing and they breach a door.

They fail to stop Soap and Price, and Shepherd attempts to escape on a Zodiac. Soap and Price manage to shoot down Shepherd's helicopter, but plummet down a waterfall. After a long fight between a weary Captain Price and General Shepherd, Soap intervenes by throwing a knife at Shepherd's eye, killing him. What happens to the Shadow Company after this is unknown.

Shadow Company appears to be either a US black ops unit, or possibly even a private military company (PMC) operating directly under the command of General Shepherd, serving as his personal security detail and operations force that carry out his orders without question, even if these orders involve breaking the law or killing their own men (such as when he betrayed Task Force 141).

Shepherd, however, holds no regard for their lives and considers them all expendable, an example of which was an artillery bombardment he called in directly upon their location, blowing up his own base with soldiers still inside it in a failed attempt to kill Soap and Price during "Just Like Old Times".

Named Members/Units

 * Shepherd - Commander, callsign Gold Eagle.
 * Oxide - Command base communications officer.
 * Disciple - Patrol for Site Hotel Bravo.
 * Disciple 1
 * Disciple 1-5
 * Disciple 2
 * Disicple 3
 * Disciple 4
 * Disciple 5
 * Disciple 6
 * Disciple 9
 * Alpha Element 9+ Shadow Troopers (riverbed)
 * Bravo Element 9+ Shadow Troopers (sandstorm)
 * Foxtrot Element 12+ Shadow Troopers (breaches the steam room but are eliminated by Price and Soap)
 * Zulu Element 6 Shadow Troopers and 2 German Shephards (first group to be eliminated by Price and Soap)
 * Butcher - Patrol for Site Hotel Bravo.
 * Butcher 1-5
 * Butcher 2
 * Butcher 3
 * Butcher 5
 * Butcher 7
 * Butcher 9
 * Vinson - Element of Butcher Seven.
 * Lambert - Element of Butcher Seven.
 * Avatar One - UAV operator.
 * Warhorse 5-1 - Pave Low helicopter (Shot down by Price).
 * Excalibur - Artillery commander for Site Hotel Bravo.
 * Thunder Two-One - MH-6 Little Bird helicopter that protected Ghost and Roach from Ultranationalists in "Loose Ends".
 * Carnivor 1
 * Avatar 2 - UAV Predator Drone
 * Scaner 3

Arsenal


Shadow Company soldiers are heavily armed, well trained and extremely dangerous. Their choice of weapons consists of modern weapons. Their weapons of choice are similar to Task Force 141 and the Rangers. Their arsenal includes:

Assault Rifles

 * ACR
 * SCAR-H

Machine Guns

 * M240
 * MG4
 * RPD (Not dropped and replaced as MG4s)

Submachine Guns & Machine Pistols

 * MP5K
 * UMP45
 * TMP
 * Vector
 * G18
 * P90

Shotguns

 * M1014
 * AA-12
 * SPAS-12
 * Underbarrel Shotgun

Handguns

 * M9
 * .44 Magnum (used by Shepherd)
 * M1911 (Seen only in Loose Ends)
 * Desert Eagle

Launchers

 * AT4
 * RPG-7
 * M203

Others

 * Riot Shield
 * Combat Knife
 * Dogs
 * WA2000

Vehicles
Shadow Company has a variety of vehicles, most of them used by the US Military. These include:
 * Technical
 * Up-armored SUV
 * HMMWV
 * M1A1 Abrams
 * M2A2 Bradley
 * UH-60L Black Hawk
 * Pave Low
 * Little Bird
 * Zodiac
 * Predator UAV
 * F-15 Eagle
 * CH-46 Sea Knight

Equipment
Soldiers of this unit are distinguished by their black uniforms and tan CIRAS type tactical vest, with both US Flag and a spade patch symbol, black balaclavas, as well as tactical goggles or night vision goggles attached to their helmets, (the only difference is the color); they also appear to have other various equipment such as extra mags, NVGs, flares, grenades, etc. Note: The Shadow Company soldiers are wearing Advanced Combat Helmets.

Character Models


If the soldier is holding a rifle, the character model has two rifle ammo pouches and three extra pistol magazines.

If the soldier is using a shotgun, the character model has many extra shotgun shells.

If the soldier is using an LMG or Launcher, the character model has three large ammo packs, and two extra fragmentation grenades.

Trivia

 * They are the first campaign enemies in the Call of Duty series that are American. The second is the Mercs from Call of Duty: Black Ops II
 * On the crates in Hotel Bravo on the level "Just Like Old Times", there is an emblem with a "rook" chess piece, lightning bolts and the words UMBRA CATERVAE written on it, which is Latin for Shadow Company. No symbol like this exists in the US military adding to the possibility that they are mercenaries, or possibly a black operations unit. This is also seen on the bombs in Sabotage, Demolition and Search and Destroy.
 * The Shadow Company "chess piece" emblem can be obtained in Multiplayer by completing the "Tango Down" challenge.
 * In "Just Like Old Times" they can be heard saying something along the lines of "... so that means we get double pay?" They are likely referring to combat pay, where soldiers get paid more when they are in combat. Although this would more likely make them a PMC as mercenaries care more about money that regular troops, it is more likely that they are a Black Ops unit of some sort due to the fact they, like their Task Force 141 opponents, participate in secretive and illegal actions that Shepherd wouldn't trust a PMC to do.
 * However, a PMC would also allow Shepard to take actions that not even the U.S. government knew about, much less sanctioned. This could explain how he was able kill members of his own task force without official retribution.
 * The spade symbol Shadow Company wears is very similar to the spear like symbol of the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) as well as the symbol of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This further supports them being a Black Ops unit.
 * The "spade", visible on their arm patches, can also be seen in the Task Force 141 logo.
 * The up-armored SUVs used by Shadow Company are possibly based on BAE Systems' Armored Commercial Vehicles - specifically the Armored Chevrolet Suburban - because of the look and function of the vehicles.
 * On the license plates of Shadow Company's up-armored SUVs, it is written "G 2009IW4 V". 2009 is the game's year and IW4 is the engine for the game.
 * In "Just Like Old Times", if a player waits and listens to the group of Shadow Company soldiers in the cave, a conversation can be heard where a Shadow Company member and his team killed three "left over" Russians, for being aggressive after breaching Site Hotel Bravo's perimeter.
 * In "Just Like Old Times", the Shadow Company soldiers using Riot Shields use the same character models as the Navy SEALs using riot shields in multiplayer.
 * Most ACRs used by Shadow Company have Digital Camouflage on them. One can also acquire a unique ACR with Heartbeat Sensor, Red Dot Sight and Silencer with a "black" finish at the steam room in "Just Like Old Times".
 * If one were to view the helmets of Shadow Company there will be a name, but it is always "HOLT"SHADOWCOMPANYCARGO.jpg
 * The Shadow Company logo can be seen on some crates and containers in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign.
 * In-game, Shadow Company soldiers usually require 3 bullets to the torso from most pistols, submachine guns, or assault rifles to kill, compared to 2 shots to kill for all other types of enemy soldiers. They are also able to survive a headshot (though not always) They appear to be the only enemy type in the campaign of all 3 Modern Warfare games to have this attribute.
 * The Shadow Company logo slightly resembles the tarrot card of The Tower Arcana, the only difference being is the extra lightning bolt.