Simon Riley

The masked lieutenant who led Task Force 141's extraction of critical intel before a fatal betrayal by General Shepherd.

Simon Riley, known universally by his callsign 'Ghost', is a key operative within the multinational special forces unit Task Force 141. Serving alongside Captain John 'Soap' MacTavish and Lieutenant General Shepherd's reassignment targets, Ghost plays a critical role in hunting Vladimir Makarov. He appears prominently during missions securing an Attack Characterization System module from a Russian airbase and capturing arms dealer Alejandro Rojas in Rio de Janeiro. His duties extend to breaking into a gulag in Kamchatka Krai to rescue Captain Price and leading half the team to a safehouse on the Georgia–Russia border to extract vital intelligence.

Quick Facts

Affiliation: Task Force 141
Callsign: Ghost
First appears: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Lore & Background

Ghost's narrative arc is defined by his service in Task Force 141 under Captain Soap MacTavish. He participated in securing an ACS module from a downed American satellite at a Russian airbase in the Tian Shan range. Later, he joined the mission in Rio de Janeiro to capture Alejandro Rojas, which led to interrogation revealing the location of 'Prisoner 627'. The team subsequently broke into the gulag in Kamchatka Krai to rescue Captain John Price. Following Price's return, Ghost and Roach were tasked with securing Makarov's safehouse on the Georgia–Russia border. Here, they successfully downloaded a wealth of intelligence. However, at the extraction point, General Shepherd betrayed the team, executing both Ghost and Roach to seize the module for himself. This event occurred while Soap and Price led the other half of the team to an aircraft boneyard in Afghanistan.

Reader's Guide

Simon Riley operates as Lieutenant Simon 'Ghost' Riley within Task Force 141. Players experience his perspective as they navigate these objectives, switching between Task Force 141 operatives and US Army Rangers depending on the level. He is also present in Spec Ops mode, which features twenty-three additional levels playable individually or cooperatively with a partner.