 McCain's first five attack missions over North Vietnam went without incident, and while still unconcerned with minor Navy regulations, McCain had garnered the reputation of a serious aviator.McCain and his fellow pilots were frustrated by the micromanagement of Rolling Thunder from Washington; he later wrote, "The target list was so restricted that we had to go back and hit the same targets over and over again...Most of our pilots flying the missions believed that our targets were virtually worthless.