One of Ian Calderon's most pressing concerns after gaining control of the Taurian Concordat was the shattered Taurian Defense Force. More than two whole corps were destroyed in the vicious fighting, and though salvage from the fallen mercenary units and ongoing Word of Blake assistance promised to get the TDF back on its feet in no time, Calderon had more than his share of doubts concerning the Word of Blake's motives.
To try to reduce his nation's reliance on the Word of Blake, and also to lessen their dependence on their Alliance members, of which relations were strained when Shraplen was in power, Ian managed to get Hawkings Consortium and Pinard Protectorates Limited to collaborate on an assault omnimech design.
The result was the Warthog.

One of the heaviest assault omnimechs in the Inner Sphere, the Warthog is nevertheless cheap enough for even mercenaries to purchase.
The key to its low cost was the use of a standard Pitban engine, a well known engine that had been use for many centuries. In fact, technicians have come to associate the Warthog with easy duty, as its omnipod hardpoints are easy to access, and the internal components are robust and reliable.
Utilizing endo steel constructed by their new zero-G facilities in the many asteroid fields around Taurus, the Warthog gains quite a significant edge over even XL engined mechs in terms of cost and durability.
CASE was initially a sticky problem in many of the configurations, but Taurian engineers, in a show of briiliant engineering, managed to design an ammo housing that would serve as a pod mounted version of CASE.
The primary configuration mounts some of the most advanced weaponry available to the Taurians. A gauss rifle, streak racks, and extended range lasers of various types constitute an array of firepower rarely seen in the periphery.
The other alternate configurations deploy a range of weaponry, to be outfitted according to mission parameters.

The first known use of a Warthog came in the wake of the abortive Word of Blake jihad. Word of Blake forces were suddenly ambushed by Taurian units as they tried to carry out their acts of sabotage and destruction, and in the midst of the desperate battle, a Warthog came head to head against a Grand Crusader.
The two assault mechs smashed into each other with the fury of titans, and while the Grand Crusader carried much heavier weaponry, the Warthog was slightly faster, and had much better endurance. The duel ended with the Warthog coring one of the Grand Crusader's side torsos, destroying its vulnerable extra light engine.
The Taurian forces soon defeated the Word of Blake forces on that world, and similar actions were carried out on Taurian worlds.
Later, it turned out that Protector Calderon had already conferred with Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao and Frank Meronac to preempt the Word of Blake for their jihad, forcing them to reveal their hand before they were ready and then striking back with overwhleming firepower. The Warthog , with its omnitechnology, was a key part of Calderon's battle plan.

Subaltern Jenna Doe(Leloni Furey)
Once an amnesiac serving with the Red Chasseurs, Jenna has since discovered her true identity as a survivor of Clan Smoke Jaguar. She has not revealed her true name to her present comrades in the Taurian Guard, claiming that her past no longer mattered to her.
Her true name is Leloni Furey, having earned her bloodname at the young age of 22, just before the SLDF annihilated her clan. Now 34 years old, she is intensely loyal to her Warthog 'Memory', a gift from Milton Hawkings.
She destroyed at least five Word of Blake mechs in the fighting in the Taurian Concordat alone, and amassed another ten kills when the Taurian Guards accompanied Ian Calderon on the campaign to free Terra.

Watthogs are now a common sight in Trinity Alliance frontline assault lances, while mercenaries are also eagerly buying these mechs from Hawkings Consortium.
Even with the advent of real peace with the new Star League, the third attempt at uniting humanity, it seems that the Warthog will likely enjoy a long and successful career in the armies of the Inner Sphere.