Captain John MacTavish, Sr. (6 January 1981 - 11 October 2016), nicknamed "Soap", was a Scottish soldier and former commanding officer of Task Force 141, originally a member of the British Special Air Service. Soap was responsible for the death of Imran Zakhaev and General Herschel Shepherd, though was killed by Vladimir Makarov with a bomb after discovering Makarov's affiliation with Yuri Astakhov.
Biography[]
Early life[]
John MacTavish was born on 6 January 1981 in Edinburgh, Scotland to a Catholic family. He joined the British Army at the age of 19 in 2000, qualifying for the British Parachute Regiment and serving one tour in Northern Ireland and a few more in the Middle East. In 2003, he sired a son, Johnny MacTavish, with his girlfriend. By 2011, MacTavish earned the nickname of "Soap", though the origins of the nickname are dubious at best.
SAS career[]
FNG[]
Soap passed Special Air Service selection team with flying colors, being assigned to the 22nd SAS Regiment based out of Stirling Lines. He was assigned to serve under the decorated Captain John Price as part of Bravo Team. Soap trained repeatedly on a mockup of a cargo ship, unknowingly representing Operation Crew Expendable; he gladly took a tip from Sergeant Adam Wallcroft on switching to a pistol instead of reloading.
On 31 October 2011, Soap underwent a brief evaluation by Lieutenant Nathaniel "Gaz" Eliott before Price oversaw Soap train on the cargo ship mockup, beating Gaz's time of nineteen seconds on the second try. Soap was then briefed on the upcoming mission to infiltrate the Väljakutse as it crossed the Bering Strait.
Operation Crew Expendable[]
Bravo Team was given clearance to intercept the Estonian cargo freighter Väljakutse as it crossed the Bering Strait on 1 September 2011, flying in via helicopter alongside Captain Price, his right-hand-man Gaz, Sergeant Wallcroft, and Corporal Rhys Griffen. They stealthily worked their way through the ship, discovering it was manned by Ultranationalist soldiers and carrying plutonium. Immediately after this discovery, MiG-29s began to strafe the ship, with Bravo Team making it out in the nick of time before the ship sunk.
Rescue of Nikolai[]
On 2 September 2011, Bravo Team was sent to the Caucasus Mountains in the midst of the Second Russian Civil War to rescue informant Nikolai, who was captured soon after reporting the cargo freighter to Price. They met with Sergeant Mikhail Kamarov, a Loyalist commander. Despite their goals differing, Kamarov paid back the favor from Beirut and helped Bravo with finding Nikolai at a power station after securing a nearby town. Though they exfiltrated, their helicopter was shot down by a SAM missile over Western Russia.
The survivors quickly gathered themselves and called for another extraction, with the aid of an American AC-130H Spectre gunship. They make it to the extraction point after intense firefighting in villages and a junkyard. Soap was taken to the infirmary after extraction for a rabies shot, to his chagrin.
Finding al-Asad[]
After the nuclear detonation in Basra, Iraq, on 3 September 2011, Soap and Bravo Team were tasked to find and capture Khaled al-Asad at his safehouse in Amsar, Azerbaijan, with coordinates given by Nikolai and assistance given in the form of troops by Sergeant Kamarov. Though they witness the Ultranationalists massacring the Azerbaijani villagers, they could do nothing but avenge them by killing their murderers. The team went through multiple safehouses before eventually finding the one al-Asad was in.
After capturing him, they subjected al-Asad to intense torture, though he never revealed who gave him the nuclear device. However, his phone rings and Price answers, only to hear gun runner Imran Zakhaev on the other end. Immediately, Price shot al-Asad in the forehead, seemingly killing him. They quickly disposed of his body, and Price explained how he knew Zakhaev while waiting for extraction. Eight hours later, a massive Ultranationalist counter-attack commenced on the small town. The team was successful, and they were extracted shortly after by US FORECON Marines led by Staff Sergeant Jackson Griggs. Soap felt responsible for Sergeant Mac Kilroy's death, thinking that if he was just a bit faster, then Mac would still have been alive.
Attempted capture of Viktor Zakhaev[]
New information was given by Kamarov regarding Viktor Zakhaev - who was Imran Zakhaev's son - including his location. A joint force consisting of SAS, US Marines, and Loyalist troops were tasked to capture Viktor in Uzlovoy, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Disguised as Ultranationalists, they ambushed "Zakhaev" and chased him through the village and a large building. "Zakhaev" committed suicide before the SAS could capture him, Gaz exclaiming that he was their only lead. Price, however, knew Imran would not let his son's death go unanswered, before Soap and the rest of the team left the premises.
Operation in the Altay Mountains[]
Soon after his son's death, Imran Zakhaev threatened to launch missiles towards the United States. The task force parachuted in to stop Zakhaev, though the mission quickly took a detour to rescue Griggs, as he was captured soon after landing. Two nuclear missiles launched, directed towards the US East Coast, as soon as Griggs was rescued; should the missiles hit, the estimated casualties would be around 41 million.
The team fought through heavy Ultranationalist resistance, including three BMP-2 light tanks. They eventually reach a vent into the facility, cutting it open and rappelling in. They would reach the missile control center, Soap entering abort codes sent by the Loyalists: this would shut down the missiles and save over 40 million lives. Price and his team would exfiltrate, pursued by a Hind and several trucks.
The Hind would eventually destroy a bridge, crashing the truck. Gaz and Griggs are soon killed by Zakhaev and the Ultranationalists, and Soap was almost killed as well before the Hind was destroyed, distracting Zakhaev. Price slid his M1911 to Soap, who shot the terrorist leader and his bodyguards. Both of them were soon rescued by Loyalist forces, who were transported to a Loyalist hospital to recover.
Leave[]
There, Soap believed Price was also killed. Soap suffered from PTSD, plagued by the deaths of Gaz and Griggs and the supposed death of Price, believing that it was his fault that they died. He was transferred to a Birmingham hospital, where he remarked in his journal about the three cons of healing in Russia: bad food, reading about Glasgow FC instead of watching it, and the slow recovery speed.
Soap suffered from PTSD while being issued on leave, plagued by the deaths of Gaz and Griggs and the supposed death of Price, believing that it was his fault that they died. He was also angered by the cover-up, and how he couldn't tell their families what really happened to their lost loved ones. However, he relished killing Zakhaev, believing it was at least worth something. Soap wrote these thoughts in his journal, training heavily during his recovery. He visited Price's favorite horse racing course in Hereford, before buying Price's favorite cigars in Credenhill.
Operation Kingfish[]
Price and Soap were eventually invited to US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Hershel Shepherd's newly formed NATO counter-terrorist Task Force 141. They were designated to deal with Zakhaev's protégé: Vladimir Makarov. Makarov had formed a new terrorist cell called the Inner Circle, composed of Ultranationalist hardliners that did not align with the more moderate Ultranationalist government that won the Second Russian Civil War. Price and Soap led several raids on Inner Circle bases over the next two years with the goal of capturing/killing Makarov.
On 8 October 2013, Task Force 141 conducted Operation Kingfish, a raid on one of Makarov's safehouses. Price's team consisted of Soap, Simon "Ghost" Riley, and Gary "Roach" Sanderson. Two Delta Force operators also participated in the raid: Derek "Frost" Westbrook and Alex "Sandman" Hart. The operation failed spectacularly, resulting in Price's capture and assumed death.