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Sen. McCain's son joins Marine Corps

Wire Report

PHOENIX - The youngest son of Sen. John McCain has joined the Marine Corps and could be deployed to a war zone in a matter of months, according to a Time magazine report.

Jimmy McCain, 18, will begin basic training in September. He'll spend three months in boot camp and undergo a month of specialized training before being assigned to a unit.

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WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - The youngest son of U.S. Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and a vocal proponent of more American troops in Iraq, will soon report for duty in the Marine Corps, Time Magazine reported on Saturday.

Jimmy McCain, 18, will spend three months in boot camp in California this autumn and another month in specialized training.

Depending on his unit, the younger McCain could eventually wind up in Iraq where Marines have experienced heavy fighting, Time reported. Marines are also in combat in Afghanistan.

"I'm obviously very proud of my son," McCain told Time, "but also understandably a little nervous."

The U.S. military death toll in Iraq stands at 2,574, including four Marines killed on Thursday, the military said on Saturday.

McCain, an Arizona Republican, is a potential presidential candidate in 2008. He has been calling for more U.S. troops in Iraq, where violence continues more than three years into the war.

The U.S. force in Iraq has reached 132,000, gaining about 5,000 troops this week after the Pentagon extended the tour of an Alaska-based combat unit.

McCain says his son's Marine service will not change his position on the war.

McCain's family has a rich military tradition. His grandfather and father were both Navy admirals. McCain was a Navy fighter pilot when shot down over Vietnam. He spent more than five years in captivity. McCain's other son, Jack, attends the U.S. Naval Academy.

The percentage of members of Congress with children serving in the military is only slightly above 1 percent. Sens. Christopher Bond, a Missouri Republican, and Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, have had sons serve combat missions in Iraq, Time said.

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McCain's son headed for Marine training

SAN DIEGO, July 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain's youngest son, Jimmy, 18, is scheduled to report soon to a Marine Corps depot near Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

After three months of boot camp beginning in September, and a month of specialized training, he will be ready to deploy, Time reported Saturday. Depending on the unit he joins, he could be in Iraq as early as this time next year, and his chances of seeing combat at some point are high, the magazine said.

"I'm obviously very proud of my son," the Arizona Republican tells Time, "but also understandably a little nervous."

If Jimmy deploys to combat, McCain will join Franklin D. Roosevelt as one of the very few U.S. presidential candidates ever to have had a son at war.

And Jimmy's service will shade the race, the magazine said.

Iraq is the most important strategic and political issue facing the United States -- many Democrats are calling for troop withdrawal to begin immediately, and the Bush administration is struggling to reduce troop strength by the end of the year, Time said.

McCain, a heroic Vietnam prisoner of war and the son and grandson of Navy admirals, is the leading voice calling for increasing the number of U.S. troops there.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-mccain30.html

McCain's son joins Marines, may serve in Iraq

July 30, 2006

PHOENIX -- The youngest son of Sen. John McCain has joined the Marine Corps and could be deployed to a war zone in a matter of months, according to a magazine report.

Jimmy McCain, 18, will start basic training in September. He'll spend three months in boot camp and undergo a month of specialized training before being assigned to a unit.

''I'm obviously very proud of my son,'' the elder McCain told Time for a story in editions going on sale Monday, ''but also understandably a little nervous.''

With 25,000 of 178,000 active duty Marines in Iraq now and 80,000 having done tours of duty there or in Afghanistan in recent years, the likelihood is high of Jimmy McCain being deployed to a war zone.

McCain has been an outspoken supporter of the war in Iraq.

Considered a possible presidential candidate in 2008, McCain served as a Navy pilot and was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967. He was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years.