General Shepherd

""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 might of America

General Shepherd is a United States general who commands Task Force 141. He is first a good guy but then betrays the Task Force as a bad guy.

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 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

To accomplish this, Shepherd needed an enemy, something to rally the entire nation behind him. After many terrorists attacks throughout Europe, Shepherd believed Russian Ultranationalist extremist Vladimir Makarov could indirectly help bring the recruitment plan into play. Shepherd becomes the commanding officer of Task Force 141 with the intent of stopping Makarov and handpicks Joseph Allen to be an undercover agent. Shepherd's plan progresses as Allen's position was compromised by Makarov after the massacre at Zakhaev International Airport. As a result, the United States was invaded, 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 3.5 million soldiers (as in 2016) of the United States 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 United States 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 Roach and Ghost 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 the task force in an attempt to destroy any link to his treacherous actions and so that he can bring down Vladimir Makarov himself. 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 pursuit. After having his helicopter shot down, MacTavish and Price's speed boat plunges into the water falls below. Shepherd survives the crash as 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. Just as Shepherd attempts to execute MacTavish with his .44 Magnum, Price tackles Shepherd, causing him to miss the shot, and the two get into a hand-to-hand fight. MacTavish begins to drift in and out of consciousness and only sees bits and pieces of the fight. Shepherd eventually overpowers Price and gains the upper hand. However, MacTavish regains consciousness and removes the knife from his chest. He then throws it into Shepherd's left eye, killing him instantly.