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.