Rite of Passage: Senator McCain's Youngest Son Joins the Marine Corps

According to a TIME story, Jimmy McCain, the youngest son of US Senator and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, has enlisted in the Marine Corps. Although this isn't the first of McCain's children to follow down the path of military service (that's practically a rite of passage for their family) -- older brother, Jack, just finished his plebe year at Annapolis -- Jimmy could be the first to find himself in a hostile fire zone (TIME reports it could be as soon as this time next year), if he reports to a unit that gets deployed as a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)-- and given the current optempo, I'm guessing he stands a very good chance of seeing that happen.

Interestingly, Senator McCain was not excited to see the story in print, apparently preferring it remain the private decision of an eighteen year old (as it so often really is). But the article nonetheless goes to great lengths to reflect on how it might affect the political landscape in 2008, not to mention his expected ascension to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee in January.

In any case, despite knowing his family's unique history, I think that Jimmy should have taken his oath with the nation's best and oldest service... After all, service is service, but why play for the Padres when you can be a Dodger? Still, there's no denying that the US Marine Corps don't have a history and a legacy of its own-- one that is unsurpassed in world history-- and I wish him the best as he joins the few and the proud in becoming a brave and honored defender of our nation and our nation's values -- I only wish that more of his generation would have been raised with the same sense of duty. But welcome to the profession of arms, Jimmy!