Captain Ian Mainwaring during the Fourth Succession War (FEB 3029)

Ian St. John Mainwaring was born to a MechWarrior Family in the sleepy community of Walmington-on-Sea, New Ivaarsen, Federated Suns early in the morning of 1 November 3005.  The Mainwarings were of MechWarrior stock, but not quite actual nobility, having owned at least two BattleMechs of their own since the fall of the Star League.  Growing up rubbing elbows with the children of other MechWarrior families and the nobility of New Ivaarsen and Robinson, Ian was a natural to attend the Robinson Battle Academy, entering at the age of 16 in 3022 and graduating with honors in 3026, being posted along with his father’s Battleaxe “Helga” as a lance commander in the First New Ivaarsen Chasseurs.

Mainwaring participated in Galahad ’26 immediately after graduation, gaining the notice of his superiors and the respect of his men, especially his company sergeant major, Lucas Wellington.  During the stand-down between Galahad ’26 and Galahad ’27, Mainwaring was sent to staff college – an unprecedented action for such a junior Leftenant, but one that would prove prescient during the furious action during the Fourth War.  Galahad ’27 went off finding Mainwaring placed in command of his company, with an early promotion to Captain following shortly thereafter.  Mainwaring’s battalion was decorated for efficiency during Galahad ’27 by Duke Paul Stephenson at the behest of Marshal Nicholas Stephenson, and official notice was taken of the excellent tactical coordination of Mainwaring’s Company.

The outbreak of the Fourth War found Captain Mainwaring and his unit embroiled in the assault on New Hessen, and Mainwaring’s Company, facing the First Battalion of the 1st New Hessen Irregulars, found themselves suddenly the left flank of the Davion line as a determined breakthrough began to develop, cutting the 1BN, 1st Chasseurs off from 3BN, which was to have been on their left.  The Heavy and Medium lances of the Irregular’s Third Battalion attempted to drive a spearhead through the Davion line, but were unprepared for the brutal reception of Mainwaring’s Company and Stephenson’s Company (3BN) who quickly formed a salient and poured PPC and LRM fire into it.  The New Hessen’s “high tide” made it to the hastily reconstituted Davion line, but was stopped by a determined defense as the wings of the Davion forces swung in to crush the main body of the New Hessen Irregulars.

During the fighting on Alrescha, Capellan Death Commandos wounded Marshal Nicholas Stephenson and most of the command staff of 1st Chasseurs.  Colonel Ophelia Stephenson assumed command, filling slots as necessary and breveting Captain Mainwaring to command the First Battalion.  November-December found 1st Chasseurs dropping onto the planet Yangtze, smashing the local resistance quickly and efficiently, showing that Colonel Ophelia Stephenson was every bit as wily as her father had been.

During the fighting on Hamal, Captain Mainwaring moved to defend one of his MechWarriors from what would have been a killing shot, and was caught in a close-range discharge from a PPC.  The impact severely damaged “Helga”‘s head and cockpit, and Mainwaring was evacuated to Halloran V with the rest of the unit’s casualties.  Upon regaining consciousness after several long and difficult surgeries, Mainwaring was put into a physical therapy program to return him to active duty status.  After some serious accidents in the program, he was told that due to severe neural damage from the injury, his nervous system was no longer capable of taking the stresses of input and feedback required to properly use a Neurohelmet, and the types of feedback that occur routinely when systems short or a ‘Mech is hit could be lethal.  The Fourth War ended before he was discharged from the hospital.  Given the option of a desk job or mustering out, Mainwaring took the option of leaving the service to contemplate what to do next with his life.

Ian Mainwaring was teaching at the Robinson Battle Academy when he was approached by Duke Paul Stephenson about a possible job with a nascent mercenary unit that badly needed an experienced commander who could train and organize raw recruits.  Seeing it as an opportunity to be useful to the Davion government again in a more active role, he accepted- and at the end of the spring 3034 term travelled to Galatea to assume command of the Royal Dragoon Guards “regiment” with the title of Major.  He found no regiment, rather a motley collection of a few ‘Mechs, a few Techs, a Drop Ship and orders.  Orders from shadowy owners he had never met.  Those orders were to take charge of the unit, her funds, and her personnel and turn them into a combined arms regiment capable of fighting an action as well or better than an AFFS line regiment.  Mainwaring took that as a personal challenge, and has thus far found it a far more difficult job that he had imagined, being saddled with some extremely talented individuals that simply had no discipline.  Mainwaring brought Sergeant Major Lucas Wellington with him to help discipline the unit, eventually trusting Wellington with command of the first operational BattleMech Company, Easy.  Wellington led some actions on Tukayyid during the Ronin Wars, but was injured upon return to Galatea, causing Mainwaring to take direct command of Easy Company.

Major Mainwaring now commands the Regiment, such as it is, as well as serving as Company Commander for Easy Company.  He looks at the Calseraigne Campaign as his chance to take a more personal control of the RDG and intensify their training and discipline so as to satisfy the orders of the mysterious Royal Dragoons GmbH, who underwrote the unit and technically own it.  He occasionally tempts fate to pilot “Helga” on training maneuvers, but has yet to participate in combat since his injury on Hamal.

Twenty Questions with Ian Mainwaring