Shadow Company

Shadow Company is an enemy faction encountered at the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 's singleplayer campaign, and in some Special Ops missions.

Named Members/Units

 * Shepherd - Commander, callsign Gold Eagle.
 * Oxide - Command base communications officer.
 * Disciple - Patrol for Site Hotel Bravo.
 * Butcher - Patrol for Site Hotel Bravo.
 * Vinson - Element of Butcher Seven.
 * Lambert - Element of Butcher Seven.
 * Avatar One - UAV operator.
 * Warhorse 5-1 - Pave Low helicopter (Shot down by John 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.

Arsenal
Shadow Company soldiers are heavily armed, well trained and extremely dangerous. Their choice of weapons consist of modern weapons. Their arsenal includes:

Assault Rifles

 * ACR
 * SCAR-H

Machine Guns

 * M240
 * MG4
 * RPD (Not dropped and replaced as MG4's)

Submachine Guns & Machine Pistols

 * MP5K
 * UMP
 * TMP
 * Vector
 * G18
 * P90

Shotguns

 * M1014
 * AA-12
 * SPAS-12

Handguns

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

Launchers

 * AT4

Others

 * Riot Shield
 * Combat Knife

Vehicles
Shadow Company has a variety of vehicles, most of them used by the US Military. These include:
 * Pickup truck
 * Up-armored SUV
 * HMMWV
 * M1 Abrams
 * UH-60 Black Hawk
 * Pave Low
 * Little Bird
 * Zodiac
 * Predator UAV

Equipment
Soldiers of this unit are distinguished by their black uniforms with both US Flag and a spade patch symbol, black balaclavas, as well as tactical goggles or night vision goggles attached to their Delta Force style helmet (the only difference is the color) they appear to have other various equipment such as extra mags, NVGs, flares, grenades, etc.

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 when these orders involve treason (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 called in by Shepherd directly upon their location and blowing up his own base with soldiers still inside it in a failed attempt to kill Soap and Price during "Just Like Old Times". Their strongest opposition appear to be the Russian military itself.

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 singleplayer enemies in the Call of Duty series that are American.
 * Shadow Company is also a documentary about private military companies and mercenaries.
 * Shadow Company was also the name of the antagonists in the film Lethal Weapon.
 * On the crates in Hotel Bravo on the level Just Like Old Times (another one actually appears in Team Player, in the very first building the player enters after the player's Humvee is destroyed by the RPG and also in Of Their Own Accord, if the player turns around from where he starts in the bunker there is a crate), there is an emblem with a "rook" chess piece (Not to be confused with the TF141 Member), lightning bolts and the words UMBRA CATERVAE written on it. This is Latin for Shadow Company. No symbol like this exists in the US military adding to the possibility that they are mercenaries. This is also seen on the bombs in Sabotage, Demolition and Search and Destroy.Emblem-umbracatervae.jpg
 * The Shadow Company "chess piece" emblem can be obtained in Multiplayer by completing the "Tango Down" challenge.
 * 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).
 * The "spade", visible on their arm patches, can also be seen in the Task Force 141 logo.
 * The up-armored SUV's 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 SUV's, it is written "G 2009IW4 V". 2009 is the game's year and IW4 is that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the fourth title of Infinity Ward.
 * 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 3 "Left Over" Russians, for being aggressive after breaching Site Hotel Bravo's perimeter.
 * They seem to not care about their own men, as they can be seen running over their own troops in "The Enemy of My Enemy"
 * Strangely, many weapons sometimes can't kill them with one headshot.
 * In "Just Like Old Times", Shadow Company soldiers on the catwalk use RPD's. This is quite strange as Shadow Company use mostly American weapons and weapons used by Task Force 141. Also when the Shadow Company soldiers die they don't drop the RPD's. Instead there is just an MG4 lying already placed on the floor. This is shown when the player runs up to them on the Recruit difficulty, and the MG4 is on the floor while the enemy is using RPD's.
 * The most commonly used weapons used by the Company are the ACR, SCAR-H, SPAS-12, and M240.
 * In &quot;Just Like Old Times&quot;, the Shadow Company soldiers using riot shields use the same character models as the Navy SEALs using riot shields in multiplayer.
 * If the player kills a Shadow Company Soldier, he occasionally will grunt with a Russian accent.
 * Because Shadow Company does not appear in multiplayer, the U.S. Army Rangers take their place as a faction in the map Trailer Park, which is set in the airplane bone-yard.
 * Most ACR's used by Shadow Company have Digital Camouflage on them. One can also acquire a unique ACR Silenced, Red Dot, Heartbeat Sensor with a "black" finish at the steam room in Just Like Old Times.
 * It appears that the Shadow Company machine gunners use the same character model as Corporal Dunn.
 * Shadow Company soldiers all have balaclavas except their leader General Shepherd.
 * Though there is a good possibility that Shadow Company soldiers may be mercenaries, when General Shepard activates Site Hotel Bravo's self-destruct he says "Your service will be honored." to any Shadow Company remaining inside. If they are in fact mercenaries, this is an odd choice of words. Unless this is some sort of sarcastic remark, it lends credence to the idea that Shadow Company is some sort of special forces military unit loyal to Shepherd.
 * Shadow Company's uniform is similar to the Ranger's uniform, with a color difference, which supports the idea that they are somehow linked to the US Military.