 He had not been given a major sea command, and his physical condition had deteriorated, causing him to fail the flight physical required for any carrier command position (in addition to his limited arm movement, certain weather would always cause him to walk with a limp).McCain thought he might make rear admiral, but probably not vice admiral, and never become a four-star admiral as his grandfather and father had been.McCain later wrote that he did not anguish over his decision, although it pained his mother, who thought congressional careers paled in comparison to top naval ones.