Originally posted by: Scruffy
Wedge and Biggs were assigned not as underlings, but as bodyguards. Luke didn't have de jure command authority over them, but his status as the designated shooter gave him de facto authority. We can see Biggs and Wedge questioning his orders ("Are you sure we can pull out in time?" "Are you sure the computer can hit it?" "What about that tower?"), which is consistent with my theory. They're trying to keep the whiz kid alive long enough to hit the exhaust port, and it's painfully clear to them that maybe the kid can hit the target, but he knows almost nothing about staying alive in a starfighter.
Wedge and Biggs were assigned not as underlings, but as bodyguards. Luke didn't have de jure command authority over them, but his status as the designated shooter gave him de facto authority. We can see Biggs and Wedge questioning his orders ("Are you sure we can pull out in time?" "Are you sure the computer can hit it?" "What about that tower?"), which is consistent with my theory. They're trying to keep the whiz kid alive long enough to hit the exhaust port, and it's painfully clear to them that maybe the kid can hit the target, but he knows almost nothing about staying alive in a starfighter.
Good points.
Before the simulator, there are also the TIEs that Luke had shot down from the Falcon. Before he seats himself in his X-wing, his helmet has already got the markings to show it off. I assume those TIEs had put him in high esteem among the other pilots.