(PatriotPostNews.com) – A leader in the American military is back on full duty months after having a heart attack and surgery, according to the United States Marine Corps.
58-year-old Gen. Eric Smith, who holds the highest position in the military branch as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, returned to his full duties on Tuesday, March 5. According to a press release issued by the military on the same day, Smith was in the hospital for a couple weeks in the fall and returned for surgery in January.
The Marine Corps noted in the release that the general and his family “appreciate the full support” of the federal government, including the Department of Defense, the legislature, and other branches of the military.
Smith reportedly had a heart attack while out running on October 29, 2023. While in the hospital, it was discovered that his bicuspid aortic valve was damaged, leading to the heart event. Although released on November 15 from inpatient treatment, the general returned to medical facilities to undergo surgery on January 8 to restore the damage.
Gen. Christopher Mahoney, who serves as the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, had stepped in to cover Smith’s position beginning on November 3. With Smith’s full return to duties, Mahoney has now gone back to his position as assistant.
But Smith’s heart attack was not his only roadblock in his service as the Marine Corps Commandant. The general was sworn in back in September 2023, amid Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s protest of the Pentagon’s financial assistance to enable service members to obtain abortions out of state.
Tuberville made headlines for months as he boldly rejected this reimbursement program by stalling hundreds of appointments of United States generals, a motion that he finally ended in December. On Thursday, September 21, however, the senator joined 95 other senators in voting in favor of confirming Smith and two other military members to senior positions.
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