General John McCain?

As the title implies, what if John McCain had stayed in the military after his Vietnam service? What type of officer would he have made, and assuming that the Soviet Union falls on schedule, and the US gets involved in some sort of low-intensity, post-Cold War military action similar to today's deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, how would he have carried out the conflict and the issues involved with them?
 
He did stay in the military for a time- he wound up becoming an advisor to Congress and retired as a Captain. (He wasn't in the Army or Marines or USAF, so he would have been an Admiral.)
He'd have had to be flying a desk, as it were due to his arm injuries.
 

Hyperion

Banned
His best bet for flag rank would have been a desk job in Washington as a Rear Admiral, probably just 1 star, though maybe getting his second star if he does a good job.

Most admirals can only serve a limited number of years before getting another star on their uniform or having to retire, so even if McCain becomes a 1 star Rear Admiral and works a desk job for 5 years, he would still likely be retired from the Navy by the mid to late 1990s at the latest.

That being said, if he makes Flag rank, even just to 1 star level, this could open the way for him to become a civilian bureaucrat in the Pentagon, Perhaps Secretary of the Navy or something similar.
 
His father and grandfather were both four-star Admirals, so the name "John S. McCain" is pretty much seared into that rank already. In addition to US-approved nepotism, he's also got heavy DC (and therefore Pentagon) ties and is famous worldwide as a P.O.W. If he stays in the Navy after '81, I can see him easily becoming a Rear Admiral by the mid-'80s, and working his way up to full Admiral before retiring.

With name recognition from three sources, He'd probably make a good CNO following Kelso's retirement in '94 (although what Boorda would do in that situation is unknown and probably sad). The timeline works out for others.

An idea could be like this:
* 1977-1979 (age 41-43) - Commander, Senate Naval Liaison (RL)
* 1979-1981 (age 43-45) - Captain, Senate Naval Liaison (RL)
* 1981-1984 (age 45-48) - Captain, Pentagon job of some sort. Possibly back to NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command)
* 1984-1986 (age 48-50) - Rear Admiral (lh), Vice Commander of NAVAIR
* 1986-1987 (age 50-51) - Rear Admiral (uh), Vice Commander of NAVAIR
* 1987-1990 (age 51-54) - Vice Admiral, Commander of NAVAIR
* 1990-1992 (age 54-56) - Admiral, Vice Chief of Naval Operations
* 1992-1994 (age 56-58) - Admiral, Commander of Pacific Command
* 1994-1997 (age 58-61) - Admiral, Chief of Naval Operations
* 1997-2000 (age 61-64) - Admiral, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
* 2001-2006 (age 65-70) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs
* 2006-2009 (age 70-73) - Secretary of Defense
* 2008 (age 72) - Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States
 
Well, he'd be an Admiral, not a General.

How plausible is this, though? I got the impression that before McCain got captured as a POW, he was a bit of a fuck-up.
 

Hyperion

Banned
His father and grandfather were both four-star Admirals, so the name "John S. McCain" is pretty much seared into that rank already. In addition to US-approved nepotism, he's also got heavy DC (and therefore Pentagon) ties and is famous worldwide as a P.O.W. If he stays in the Navy after '81, I can see him easily becoming a Rear Admiral by the mid-'80s, and working his way up to full Admiral before retiring.

With name recognition from three sources, He'd probably make a good CNO following Kelso's retirement in '94 (although what Boorda would do in that situation is unknown and probably sad). The timeline works out for others.

An idea could be like this:
* 1977-1979 (age 41-43) - Commander, Senate Naval Liaison (RL)
* 1979-1981 (age 43-45) - Captain, Senate Naval Liaison (RL)
* 1981-1984 (age 45-48) - Captain, Pentagon job of some sort. Possibly back to NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command)
* 1984-1986 (age 48-50) - Rear Admiral (lh), Vice Commander of NAVAIR
* 1986-1987 (age 50-51) - Rear Admiral (uh), Vice Commander of NAVAIR
* 1987-1990 (age 51-54) - Vice Admiral, Commander of NAVAIR
* 1990-1992 (age 54-56) - Admiral, Vice Chief of Naval Operations
* 1992-1994 (age 56-58) - Admiral, Commander of Pacific Command
* 1994-1997 (age 58-61) - Admiral, Chief of Naval Operations
* 1997-2000 (age 61-64) - Admiral, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
* 2001-2006 (age 65-70) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs
* 2006-2009 (age 70-73) - Secretary of Defense
* 2008 (age 72) - Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States

My understanding was that after Vietnam, despite remaining in the Navy and actually having command of a land based squadron in Jacksonville Florida, due to his injuries and overall lack of flight and sea experience, the best he could do would be a 1 star or possibly even a 2 star Rear Admiral.

That being said, a person has to be really good at their job and know how to play politics to get even 1 star, so even if he just becomes a 1 star rear admiral, that would still completely change his later career.

My guess, he takes over Navy Recruiting Command or some other desk job, maybe gets another low profile desk job down the line that gets him a second star, and then retires.

After retirement, the Bush or possibly Clinton administration nominate him to civilian post at the Pentagon. Say Undersecretary of the Navy. Come 2000-01 when Bush Jr. takes over, he is offered Secretary of the Navy, and holds the post until 2006 when Rumsfeld retires. Bush nominates McCain to Secretary of Defense, and President Obama, despite being a Democrat, asks McCain to stay on at least one year into his first term so as not to disrupt Pentagon operations at such a crucial stage in American foreign affairs.
 
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