 On board for Enterprise 's maiden voyage in January 1962 , McCain gained visibility with the captain and shipboard publicity that fellow sailors and aviators attributed to his famous last name . McCain was made a lieutenant in June 1962 , and was on alert duty on Enterprise when it helped enforce the naval quarantine of Cuba during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis . In November 1963 , he was rotated back to shore duty , serving nine months on the staff of the Naval Air Basic Training Command at Pensacola . In September 1964 , he became a flight instructor with the VT @-@ 7 training squadron at Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi , where McCain Field had been named for his grandfather . 
