The Ghosts
Scott Mitchell
Voiced by: David Cooley (Ghost Recon 2, Advanced Warfighter, Advanced Warfighter 2), Steve Blum (EndWar, Future Soldier, Wildlands, Breakpoint).
The protagonist of Ghost Recon 2 and the Advanced Warfighter series. A career special forces soldier from a blue-collar background, he has served with the Ghosts in Georgia, Eritrea, and Cuba, and rose to the rank of Captain just in time to serve as the primary Ghost team leader during the two Korean conflicts of 2007 and 2011, as well as the Mexican uprising of 2013. By 2019, he's been promoted to Colonel and serves as the commanding officer of the Ghosts.
- All There in the Manual: In Future Soldier, Mitchell is never referred to by name throughout the entire game. If you play the game blind without having seen any supplementary materials, you would have no idea that your commander is the player character from the previous games in the series. It's especially jarring in the jump between Advanced Warfighter and Future Soldier, since he's voiced by two completely different voice actors (from David Cooley in AW to Steve Blum in FS), though taking crossovers into account makes it less so, since Blum has been consistently voicing him ever since EndWar.
- During the briefing of mission Ember Hunt, Mitchell cryptically mentions that the nuclear missile launched at London was likely the same weapon the Ghosts had been looking for a few months prior. This is a reference to the prequel short film Alpha which had been released before Future Soldier.
- Badass Boast: Has a pretty good one in Advanced Warfighter 2 when Colonel Jimenez asks what his name is after he saves the Colonel's life by killing an enemy tank.Captain Mitchell: "I have no name, Colonel. I'm a Ghost. And I was never here."
- The Cameo: Appears in the opening mission of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. where you support his Ghost team from the air as a H.A.W.X. pilot.
- Career-Ending Injury: Though it's not explicitly stated, all indications are that taking an EMP bomb to the face at the end of Advanced Warfighter 2 was a major factor in him being Kicked Upstairs away from field operations and into being the commanding officer of the Ghosts.
- Clothes Make the Superman: In the Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2, during Lone Wolf missions Mitchell is equipped with an Integrated Warfighter System suit to even the odds and help him One-Man Army the enemy strongpoints; it's a high-tech armored suit linked to an O.I.C.W. rifle and lets him blindfire accurately over cover using an integrated camera, launch smart airburst grenades, and laser designate targets for artillery or air support. This is apparently the prototype for the Advanced Warfighter system the Ghosts are equipped with in Advanced Warfighter, only even more "space marine" like in design.
- Deadpan Snarker: Scott Mitchell in Future Soldier. While launching an airstrike into Russian territory to bail the Ghosts out:"Your international incident's on its way."
- Determinator/Made of Iron: Cpt. Mitchell from the Advanced Warfighter series. It becomes increasingly clear throughout both games that he (and you, by proxy) is pretty much a one-man wrecking crew. He shrugs off bullets, goes on several solo missions that involve traversing long distances and fighting squads of soldiers by himself, downs several enemy helicopters, protects the President of the United States from overwhelming enemy forces, etc. At the end of the second game, he authorizes an EMP airstrike on himself to stop a nuclear missile in his immediate area from being launched. And he survives!
- The Hero: He's the main character in Ghost Recon 2 and Advanced Warfighter and serves as the commanding officer of the Ghosts in Future Soldier and Wildlands.
- Heroic Mime: Not in most of his appearances, but for whatever reason, he doesn't talk in the Xbox/PS2 version of Advanced Warfighter. Many of his exact lines are given word-for-word to other characters instead.
- Heroic Sacrifice: At the end of Advanced Warfighter 2 he calls down an EMP bomb strike on his own position to stop the Mercs from launching nuclear missiles into the United States. It's pointed out that, while the EMP itself is harmless to humans, the EMP bomb is still a bomb and potentially lethal. Sure enough Mitchell is knocked out by the strike and the game ends on a Cliffhanger as to whether or not he survives.
- Jack of All Trades: As the player character and team leader, Mitchell has to engage in a wide variety of combat roles, including general infantry, sniper, Badass Driver, demolitions, etc.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Scott Mitchell's appearance in Future Soldier spoils the uncertainty after his Heroic Sacrifice at the end of Advanced Warfighter 2.
- The Leader: He's a Captain and the Ghost alpha team leader in Ghost Recon 2 and Advanced Warfighter, and gets promoted to Colonel and commanding officer of the Ghosts in Future Soldier and Wildlands.
- Mission Control: In Future Soldier he's been promoted to the Ghosts' commander and gives the Ghosts their objectives and feeds them intel.
- No Name Given: In Future Soldier his name is never mentioned in-game, only showing up in the credits.
- One-Man Army: Though he's usually accompanied by his Ghost team, some missions require Mitchell to go in Lone Wolf style and take out dozens of hostiles by himself, though he usually manages it through stealth, ambushes, and superior equipment such as the Integrated Warfighter System in Ghost Recon 2.
- Remember the New Guy?: The Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2 mentions he fought in the Russian, Eritrean, and Cuban conflicts (from the first Ghost Recon game), even though he didn't actually appear in that game.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When forced to choose between saving comrades/allies/civilians and accomplishing mission objectives, Mitchell always tries to do both at the same time. This is most apparent in Summit Strike. Fortunately, he and his team happen to be good enough to pull it off.
Joe Ramirez
Voiced by: Armando Valdes
A second-generation Mexican-American and former teen hacker, Jose "Joe" Ramirez was an Army Ranger radio operator and squad leader who joined the Ghosts rather than be stuck at a desk job. Friendly and introverted, he has prominently served closely alongside Captain Mitchell ever since the events of Ghost Recon 2.
- Decoy Protagonist: You play as him in the prologue mission of Future Soldier (where he and his team die at the end of the prologue).
- Demoted to Extra: In all versions of Advanced Warfighter, Ramirez is injured by rebels in the first mission after being marked by Carlos Ontiveros. In the console versions, Mitchell rescues him and he becomes a selectable Ghost teammate. In the PC version, however, Mitchell never even encounters him and he just disappears from the rest of the game. He returns in both the console and PC version of Advanced Warfighter 2 as a selectable team member.
- Jack of All Stats: Like Jennifer Burke, Ramirez is a rifleman and serves a general purpose role in combat.
- Killed Off for Real: Dies in the prologue of Future Soldier alongside the rest of his team to a Raven's Rock bomb.
- The Lancer: Appears to be this to Captain Mitchell, as he's framed this way in the interview segments of the Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2 (being the only Ghost to appear together alongside Mitchell during his interview segments), and appearing alongside Mitchell in every installment of the series other than the PC version of the first Advanced Warfighter. He's also your primary squadmate throughout the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, after Mitchell and Marcus Brown rescue him in the first level.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: As a teen hacker, he got in trouble with the law a few times and was eventually recommended by a police officer that he put his skills to use in the Army before he got into serious trouble.
- Unexplained Recovery: He was apparently killed in the Ghost Recon novel (which takes place after Advanced Warfighter 2), but is alive and the leader of his own Ghost team by the time of Future Soldier (only to die, for real this time, in the prologue mission).
Jennifer Burke
Voiced by: Jeannie Elias
Like Scott Mitchell, Jennifer Burke is a career Army soldier from a blue-collar background. Outspoken and rebellious, she served alongside Captain Mitchell during the two Korean conflicts, and was promoted to Captain of her own Ghost squad by the time of the Mexican uprising of 2013.
- Action Girl: Alongside Alicia Diaz. Her bio also mentions she has an interest in extreme sports as well.
- A Day in the Limelight: Burke and Salvatore receive a greater amount of focus in Summit Strike compared to the main game.
- Demoted to Extra: In Advanced Warfighter, like Nick Salvatore and David Foster she's no longer a member of Mitchell's Ghost Team due to being promoted to the team leader of her own Ghost squad. Unlike Nick or David, she's never actually seen in-game and is only mentioned in dialogue.
- Jack of All Stats: Like Ramirez, Burke is a rifleman and serves a general purpose role in combat.
- Uncertain Doom: In Advanced Warfighter, the last you hear of her, her position has been overrun by the rebels and communications with her has been lost. She's never mentioned again after that point and it's left unclear whether or not she was K.I.A..
Nick Salvatore
Voiced by: Steve Blum
A boisterous, blue-collar Italian-American New Jersey native, Salvatore is a support gunner who served in Marine Force Recon before joining the Ghosts, where he served under Captain Mitchell during the two Korean conflicts. He was promoted to Captain of his own Ghost squad by the time of the Mexican uprising of 2013.
- A Day in the Limelight: Salvatore and Burke receive a greater amount of focus in Summit Strike compared to the main game.
- More Dakka: Serves as a support gunner along with Marcus Brown in Ghost Recon 2.
- Porn Stache: Seems to have grown one at some point between Advanced Warfighter and EndWar.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Fights with rolled up sleeves in all of his appearances, which does somewhat fit his role as a support gunner.
- Uncertain Doom: In Advanced Warfighter, he and his team get overrun by Carlos and the Aguila 7, and the last you see of Nick he's critically injured and marked for medevac by Mitchell. He likely survives as he appears as a leader in the alternate continuity of EndWar.
Alicia Diaz
Voiced by: Liane Schirmer
The tomboyish daughter of a Texas rancher who joined the U.S. Army, she was recruited into the Ghosts for her world class sniping skills. She has served as the squad's sniper in both Korean conflicts as well as during the Mexican uprising during the fighting in both Mexico City and Juarez. Has appeared as the squad's primary sniper in every Scott Mitchell game on consoles (other than the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter), but is notably absent from the PC games.
- Action Girl: Alongside Jennifer Burke in Ghost Recon 2, and the sole female Ghost in the Advanced Warfighter series. It's mentioned in her bio that she was unable to serve in a combat role in the regular Army due to the existing restrictions at the time, but the Ghosts were not bound by said restrictions due to being an off-the-books black ops unit.
- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear at all in the PC version of Advanced Warfighter or Advanced Warfighter 2, where her role is instead taken up by Richard Allen in the first game and John Hume in the second game. She's also missing from the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, where Mike Kim serves as sniper support instead.
- Cunning Linguist: Her bio mentions that she loves traveling and speaks several languages fluently, which proves a useful skill in field work.
- Friendly Sniper: She's the team's sniper in both Ghost Recon 2 and the Advanced Warfighter series, and her bio indicates her personality is friendly, but not extroverted.
- Glass Cannon: It's noted her smaller stature puts her at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat, but her sniper skills more than make up for it and she also trains in combat techniques designed to compensate for her smaller physique.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female Ghost in the console version of the Advanced Warfighter series, due to Jennifer Burke being Demoted to Extra. However, she's not the only female U.S. combatant, as Advanced Warfighter 2 also has Littlebird, an attack helicopter pilot.
- Tomboy: Is mentioned as being one in her bio.
Marcus Brown
Voiced by: Andre Ware
A former college football star who dropped out to join the Army, Brown's a career soldier who has served in both regular infantry and special forces before joining the Ghosts as their main support gunner. He has the unique distinction of being the only Ghost who has appeared as a squad member in every single Scott Mitchell game across all versions.
- More Dakka: In every game he serves as the squad's support gunner, wielding an LMG.
- Non-Idle Rich: it's mentioned in his bio that he's a former college football star from an affluent family who decided to join the military as an enlisted man instead of going into politics like his parents wanted.
- The Reliable One: He's the only Ghost besides Scott Mitchell to appear as a selectable teammate in every single game of the "Mitchell Trilogy"; all of the other members of Mitchell's Ghost team are either missing from at least one of the games or missing from the PC versions.
Derrick Parker
Voiced by: John Eric Bentley
The oldest member of the Ghosts, Parker is a career special forces soldier with a professional bearing. Serves as a member of Mitchell's squad in both Ghost Recon 2 games as well as the Xbox 360 version of Advanced Warfighter. He's promoted to the leader of the Ghosts' Bravo team in Advanced Warfighter 2 or the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter.- Adapted Out: He's completely missing from the PC version of Advanced Warfighter, which makes a scene in the PC version of Advanced Warfighter 2 where he and Mitchell reminiscence about fighting together in Mexico City something of a headscratcher.
- Ascended Extra: He's completely missing from the PC version of Advanced Warfighter, and is merely one of several selectable squadmates in the Xbox 360 version. However, in the PS2/Xbox version, he becomes the leader of Bravo team and has a significantly larger role in the game (see Hero of Another Story below).
- Badass in Distress: In the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, he and Beasley are captured by Carlos Ontiveros in the final level and have to be rescued by Mitchell.
- Bald of Authority: He's an older Sergeant, the Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2 shows him sporting the cue ball and mustache look, and in Advanced Warfighter 2 he gets promoted to the leader of his own Ghost squad.
- Death by Adaptation: He and Beasley are killed by Carlos in the bad ending of the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, if you fail to defeat Carlos and rescue them in the final level.
- Demolitions Expert: He's a grenadier, alongside David Foster in Ghost Recon 2 and Richard Allen and Bo Jenkins in Advanced Warfighter.
- Field Promotion: In the 2 days between Advanced Warfighter and Advanced Warfighter 2 he gets promoted from a member of Mitchell's squad to the leader of his own Ghost team, likely due to the losses of Captains Jennifer Burke and Nick Salvatore during the Mexico City revolt. (This actually seems to be an artifact from the rare PS2/Xbox version, in which he was the Bravo team leader the whole game).
- Hero of Another Story: In the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, he's the leader of Bravo team and accomplishes numerous objectives off-screen throughout the entire game while Mitchell and Alpha team are doing their own thing. He's even the one to actually capture General Ontiveros towards the end of the game.
- Old Soldier: He's the oldest member of Mitchell's Ghost team, being at least a full decade older than the majority of the other members.
David Foster
Voiced by: Wil Wheaton
A member of a long-running military family from rural Alaska, Foster is the youngest member of the Ghosts at the time of the two Korean conflicts. He's promoted to Captain of his own Ghost squad by the time of the Mexican uprising of 2013.
- Demolitions Expert: He's a grenadier, alongside Derrick Parker.
- Demoted to Extra: In Advanced Warfighter, he's no longer a member of Mitchell's Ghost Team due to having been promoted to the leader of his own Ghost squad. He's mentioned a couple of times by General Martin and has about 2 lines of dialogue in the mission "Ready for Bear". His character model in the cross-com communications window is noticeably much lower resolution than the more major characters.
- New Meat: In Ghost Recon 2 he's the youngest member of the Ghosts, though he's still had 3 years of service in the military at that point.
Mike Kim
Voiced by: Jae Choe
A fourth-generation Korean-American with a focused, quiet personality, he and Alicia Diaz serves as the snipers of Mitchell's Ghost team during the two Korean conflicts. In the PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, he's been promoted to Captain of Charlie team, which focuses on providing sniper support to other Ghost teams.
- Adapted Out: After Ghost Recon 2, he only appears in the rare PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, and is completely missing from the PC and Xbox 360 versions as well as Advanced Warfighter 2.
- Token Enemy Minority: Downplayed. He's the only Korean-American member of the Ghosts, but since he's a fourth-generation American his background is of limited utility to the mission during the two Korean conflicts, unlike, say, John Kozak's fluency in Russian during the Raven Rock conflict.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He disappears between Ghost Recon 2 and the Advanced Warfighter series. He occasionally provides sniper support as leader of Charlie team in the rare PS2/Xbox version of Advanced Warfighter, and also appears as a unit in EndWar.
Antagonists
Major General Paik
Voiced by: Robert Dahey
An Ax-Crazy North Korean General who runs North Korean's nuclear weapons program and wants to use the sinking of the U.S.S. Clarence Walsh as a pretext to launch a war of reunification against South Korean. He's the main antagonist of the PS2 version of Ghost Recon 2, but is actually acting on behalf of his superior, General Jung.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: At the end of the final level, he taunts Mitchell from behind bulletproof glass before shooting himself in the head rather than let himself be captured or killed by the Ghosts.
- Big Bad: Of the PS2 version of Ghost Recon 2, though he's actually only The Dragon to General Jung.
- Blood Knight: He launches a war of conquest based on what he knows are highly suspect justifications, and uses a lot of Proud Warrior Race Guy language during his Evil Gloating at the end of the final level.
- Evil Gloating: In the final level he taunts you over the base's loudspeakers after all the gunfire alerts him to the fact that an American special forces team has invaded the base.
- General Ripper: Paik is determined to launch a war of reunification even after it becomes evident the war is the result of third-party manipulation by a PMC, and is even willing to escalation to nuclear war after North Korea makes peace with the United States.
- Last Stand: After you spend the entire game dismantling his power base and ultimately foil his attempt to seize control of the country's nuclear arsenal, Paik gets disavowed by the North Korean leadership and is forced to retreat to a remote abandoned military base in the far frozen north, where he and his remaining soldiers make a last stand against the Ghosts.
- Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Even after the North Koreans realize the war was caused by a False Flag Operation by a third-party PMC, General Paik is still hell-bent on using the crisis as an excuse to engage in a war to reunify the peninsula under North Korean rule, or start a nuclear war with the West if that fails.
- Renegade Splinter Faction: After the Americans and North Koreans make peace and sign a ceasefire thanks to the work of Sam Fisher in exposing the truth behind the sinking of the USS Clarence Walsh, Paik unilaterally attempts to seize control of the North Korean nuclear arsenal and start a nuclear war with the West.
- See You in Hell: His last words to Captain Mitchell.
- Taking You with Me: After realizing the Ghosts are minutes away from either capturing him or putting a bullet in his head, he tries to launch or detonate his last nuclear missile to make sure the Ghosts and thousands of others go down with him.
- 0% Approval Rating: It's noted that Paik becomes wildly unpopular in North Korea as the war goes on. Both the civilian population and even his own soldiers turn against him due to his treatment of them, and even his own chief nuclear technician Major Sung turns against him after learning about the full extent of his nuclear ambitions. By the end of the game he's been disavowed by the rest of the North Korean military leadership and is abandoned by all but a small contingent of hardcore supporters.
General Jung Chong-Sun
A ruthless North Korean General who wants to unify both Koreas under his supreme leadership. He was the Greater-Scope Villain to Major General Paik in the PS2 version of Ghost Recon 2, before becoming the Big Bad of the Xbox version.
- Big Bad: Of the Xbox version. He's also The Man Behind the Man of Major General Paik, the Big Bad of the PS2 version.
- Dead Hat Shot: After he gets blown up the only thing left of him is his hat.
- Dirty Coward: Unlike General Paik, Jung fully intends to survive his Taking You with Me moment and tries to flee in a helicopter before the nuke goes off.
- Flat Character: He only has a couple lines of dialogue in The Stinger to the PS2 version, and has no dialogue in the Xbox version where he's the Big Bad. Though the actions of his soldiers acting under his orders (such as attacking a field hospital, massacring his own laborers, and trying to flood both Koreas) speaks a lot about how ruthless he is.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears a set of reflective Sunglasses Indoors.
- Leave No Witnesses: After secretly assembling a nuclear bomb at a North Korean quarry, Jung has all the quarry workers rounded up and blows them all up inside a mine shaft, partly because of this trope and partly because he just wants to kill as many people as possible before his downfall.
- General Ripper: He's not as overtly Ax-Crazy as General Paik was, but is still a ruthless warmonger who's ultimately determined to kill thousands in a Taking You with Me moment after his army starts to lose. Also, as The Man Behind the Man of General Paik, it's clear that he was on board with all of Paik's crazy actions.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Of the PS2 version, before becoming the Big Bad of the Xbox version, which takes place a couple of years later.
- Hellish Copter: At the very end of the Xbox version he attempts to escape in a transport helicopter; Mitchell shoots him down with a rocket launcher and he crashes into a mountain.
- Oh, Crap!: The look on his face as his helicopter slams right into a mountain.
- Orcus on His Throne: He's too busy directing the war from Pyongyang to actually do anything himself. He notably has even less screen time than General Paik did. His only presence in the series is a short appearance in The Stinger of the PS2 version, some intel photos of him in the intro of the Xbox version, and a very short appearance at the very end of the Xbox version where you blow him up.
- President Evil: Becomes the secret leader of North Korea in the Xbox version after overthrowing the current regime and turning them into a Puppet King.
- The Starscream: He overthrows the North Korean government and takes over between the events of the PS2 version and the Xbox version.
- Taking You with Me: At the end of the Xbox version, with his army on the brink of defeat, Jung attempts to use a nuclear bomb to destroy the country's largest dam, killing thousands of civilians in both North and South Korea as a last "screw you" to both sides.
- Undying Loyalty: Major Jacobs mentions that Jung's soldiers are fanatically loyal to him. Unlike General Paik, General Jung never suffers from 0% Approval Rating even after the direction of the war starts turning against him.
Asad Rahil
A Pakistani arms dealer who assassinates the President of Kazakhstan and tries to use his wealth and connections to replace the government with corrupt military officials on his payroll. Serves as the main antagonist of the Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike expansion pack to the Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2.
- Bald of Evil: Has male pattern baldness and is the Big Bad of the campaign.
- Big Bad: Of the Summit Strike expansion pack.
- Frontline General: Since he's an arms dealer and not a General, his organization isn't large enough for him to delegate out everything and he has to do a lot of his dirty work himself, as seen in the intro where he's personally leading a raid to steal chemical weapons from a Kyrgyzstan disposal site.
- It's Personal: Mitchell and his team become personally invested in taking Rahil down after Rahil kills Grigoriy Koslov, the Ghosts' main ally amongst the Kazakh loyalists. Rahil for his part has absolutely no idea who Mitchell is or even that he's coming for him.
- Mad Bomber: He seems quite fond of solving problems by blowing them up. Besides assassinating the Kazakh President and his cabinet with a huge bomb, he also uses nerve gas bombs to cover his escape when stealing chemical weapons from a disposal site in Kyrgyzstan, and kills Koslov's squad with a bomb.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: When the Kazakhstan government starts to interfere with Rahil's business interests in Kazakhstan, his solution is to blow up the entire government and start maneuvering military officers on his payroll into positions of power to replace them.
- Rogue Agent: He's a former Pakistani military Major who went into business for himself as an international arms dealer.
- Wolfpack Boss: At the end of the final mission, Rahil and a number of his personal bodyguards are trapped in a valley dead end after their truck crashes. You fight your way through his bodyguards before blowing Rahil away, who's hiding behind the truck. Rahil himself is ex-military and knows how to use an assault rifle, but realistically is no tougher than his Mooks.
