Wedge Antilles - accidental officer

[Corellia's Dream]

One of the things that fascinates me about Wedge is that, although he's a great officer and a superb tactician from small unit right up to fleet command, he never intended to be a soldier. He never went to any military academy, and had little or no formal military training. He wanted to be an architect, or run his family's fuelling depots.

Yet Wedge is the commanding officer of our pilots. He would have joined the Rebellion at the lowest rank of Flight Officer, but some five or six years later, at around the age of 25, he's first being offered the rank of General. (At the beginning of 'Wraith Squadron' Wedge has already turned down two promotions). He's promoted ahead of both Tycho and Hobbie, who graduated from the Imperial Academy and were trained by Baron Fel.

So what do you think it is that Wedge has got that the others haven't ? They're all intelligent, all gifted as pilots. What aspects of his personality and background make him so successful ?

And do you think that Tycho or others like Pash, with formal training, ever feel jealous of this upstart ? ( A subject I use in my story 770).

[Jesina Dreis]

I love your questions about Wedge.

And, um, wow but this turned into a mini-essay.

I think part of it is Wedge's Corellian nature - he's Corellian through and through and though he does have more respect for odds than other Corellians, there's still that part of him that's willing to take on tasks even where the odds against success are something akin to 3720 to 1. And when people survive against those odds, it looks good to higher ups. How he defies those odds... getting there. (though I think it's no small part dumb luck)

I think Wedge's lack of formal training goes a long way, actually, to making him a success. He has a creative way of thinking that probably at best wouldn't have been embraced in a formal military environment and, at worst, might have been ground out of him. He didn't have that training so he doesn't have that rigid way of looking at things and he's more open to trying something that might be suicide but just might work.

The same can be said for the way he handles his pilots--can you imagine Wes Janson in General Salm's direct command? He'd have either learned to sit down and shut up or he'd have been drummed out of the Alliance--or shot by Salm. But Wedge doesn't have that rigid military background and while he expects obedience from his pilots when it counts--when disobedience could cost lives--he lets them get away with things that others wouldn't. And that improves the unit's morale and cohesion and lets them bond with each other in ways they need to in order to survive the losses they see and the missions they're given.

As for jealousy... Hobbie's the easiest for me to answer. No, I don't think he'd care at all because, despite his training, I don't think he has any interest in command.

Tycho, I could see, sometimes. But the rib of it where he's concerned is he could have had his own command if he wanted it, and I'm convinced that while any squadron he commanded might not live up to the legend of the original Rogue Squadron, he'd be right up there. And I think he could have made general in the NR, though it might have taken a bit longer. I think he likes working with Wedge. I think he feels a loyalty to Wedge that would preclude him ever holding onto any sort of bitterness.

Tycho's only ever wanted to serve, in whatever capacity he was best suited for, and I think he's been happy for that. Rogue XO, then Rogue Leader while Wedge was away--he was happy to be in a job that he was well-suited for and could do good for the Alliance/NR.

For those reasons, though I liked 770, I had a tough time seeing it as being in-character for Tycho. I didn't consider it OOC, per se, because it was well-written and believable but... it didn't fit with the image I have of Tycho in my head. He's inherently a good person and is willing to do what is asked of him so long as he can keep fighting to improve the galaxy--wherever that fight may place him.

As for Pash... he's hard for me to get a read on because we know so little about his ambitions. He's been leading a squadron for years and the Aces are all but a legend in their own right--and so is he. I think if Pash had ever wanted a generalship, he'd be there--there's no reason for him not to be. He's not held down by someone above him refusing promotions, as Tycho has been. And while he'd balk at a promotion if it seemed he was offered it because of who his father is, I think that if Pash had seemed interested in ascending the ladder further, his father would have seen to it that it happened, on Pash's own merits.

I don't think Pash wanted that kind of responsibility and preferred to be in the background when possible, because of who his father was. And I don't really think Tycho wanted to ascend much further either. By the time of the Galactic Alliance and whatever the heck is going on in the galaxy now, Tycho's content to be a general and advisor becuase piloting is, as he says to Wedge, a "young man's game" and he's no longer a young man. He can do more by being a military advisor than anything else.

[Corellia's Dream]

Those are all sound arguments. I agree with you that Tycho's behaviour in 770 is pushing his character to the limits. I agree with your point that he wants to serve, and if he can serve the Rebellion/NR best by being second to Wedge, than he's happy there. Plus the fact that he'd rather stay, and work with his friend, than lead his own squadron. After all, Rogue Squadron is the elite starfighter unit of the NR, and if Tycho were to leave to command his own, it would never quite have the prestige of Rogue Squadron, no matter how good.

I think from the tactics point of view, Wedge falls between Han Solo and Tycho. Han has the typical Corellian disregard for odds, but doesn't really like the responsibility for the lives of others, or the military discipline. Tycho can handle the responsibility and discipline, but lacks that reckless Corellian edge. I think there's a quote in one of the books about Wedge's Corellian side being at odds with his risk-calculating side, and summarizes him perfectly. Wedge can take the responsibility but is also capable of making daring decisions that confound the enemy.

Thinking about it, many of Wedge's finest achievements involve knowing how the enemy thinks, and some successful bluffing. The example I was first thinking of was all the targetting computers fitted to Yag 'dhul in the Bacta War, to give the impression that the space station was heavily armed. I wonder how much this way of thinking, especially the bluffing, can be attributed to his time as a smuggler ?

[Jesina Dreis]

Recall the forced choice on Coruscant, which was a tactic he learned from Booster--straight out of smuggling

[Corellia's Dream]

There's another fascinating duality in Wedge's character, I think. He's an extremely honest person - think of 'Iron Fist' where the Wraiths are given authorization to fund their continued operations from their pirate activities. Janson is impressed with this, and Wedge explains that it often leads to corruption and criminal activities, and that Command must have faith in the Wraiths.
Janson remarks: "In us he says. He actually deludes himself that anyone's reputation but Wedge Antilles' figured into that equation."
And of course Wedge is perfectly honest, insisting that Kell and Phanan log every last credit they stole from the bank on Halmud.

However, he not only is the friend of smugglers, he is capable of thinking and acting like one too. In Rebel Dream he misleads the Chief of State of the New Republic, and as Mara says "Wedge has already demonstrated that he's willing to bend the rules - misappropriating a sizable fraction of the New Republic's armed forces and using them in a manner inconsistent with his orders."
Admittedly it was a desparate situation that his superiors were handling badly, but Wedge was willing to be dishonest.

He doesn't chose to be dishonest for the sake of it, but when he feels it is necessary, Wedge will bend or break the rules with far less conscience that say, Tycho would feel.

[Astronut]

I don't know if it's his honesty or his moral compass at work again. The guy does whatever he thinks is right. In Iron Fist, it was right not to lower the Wraiths to level of the much dispised pirates they were pretending to be. Command trusted that he'd do the best for the New Republic. Given that the Wraiths were supposed to be the vibroblades in the dark alley, I'm wondering if Wedge had choosen to stray down the path like so many officers before of funding his own unauthorized raids (ala Bacta War) if Command would have said anything, provided he produced results? I suspect not. Mind you, he wouldn't have earned the same level of respect but I think he would have still been a 'successful' officer.

[Xamira Gray]

I think Wedge's strengths lie in his creativity and ability to think in a looser way than someone with a strict military background. Tycho and the others, while still excellent officers, had been in the Empire long enough that a patterned strategic way of thinking had probably made it's way to their brain, making it harder for them to 'think outside the box'.

Then there's a possibility that there was still some animosity towards former Imperials (especially Tycho, who had a trip to Lusankya). It was just safer to give an officer rank to a Correlian who had been in the Rebellion longer than a former Imperial.

Wedge also seemed to be liked by his subordinates. He could keep the morale high even in the worst situations, and get everybody to do their jobs. He was almost like 'one of the guys' most of his career.

There's a somewhat similar situation in another war-related novel I like. The officer with very little military background with a peasant family turns out to be pretty much the best officer, adored by his men. He only needed to hint that something needed to be done, and his subordinates would do it. He showed excellent strategic thinking, and received the hardest missions, completing them with minimal losses. On the other hand, the officer with a military up-bringing and education, and follows all military etiquette, is a somewhat good officer, but is despised by his troops. He never managed to gain the trust of his men, and only loyalty to other officers and the army forced them to do as he said.

[Corellia's Dream]

I got to thinking about Wedge's parents and their influence on his adult behaviour. The impression we get of them from Wedge, Mirax and Booster is that they were decent, honest, hardworking people. When we actually see them, in 'The Phantom Affair' they sacrifice their lives in order to save the lives of others on the station.

These are all qualities that Wedge himself displays.

But they were close friends with one of Corellia's more notorious smugglers - Booster Terrik. I don't think Booster was smuggling spice or weapons at that time, but he was still a career criminal that the Antilles welcomed into their lives, and that of their son. We also know that they allowed pirates to use their fuelling station, though to be fair, the pirates may not have given them much choice in the matter.

So as well as the honesty, self sacrifice and work ethic Wedge learned from his parents, he also learned tolerance of smugglers and some criminal activities.

It seems highly unlikely that Tycho or Pash had anything to do with the criminal classes as they were growing up. Helping his parents run the fuelling depot and living at a boarding school probably helped Wedge develop a sense of discipline which he applied to the military. Hanging out with Booster and Mirax taught him how to subvert authority and improvise.
Putting both aspects together makes him flexible and creative in his thinking, yet capable of being a highly disciplined officer when necessary.

And I think that the example of his parents' self-sacrifice has affected him more than he realizes.