Top Marine general in ‘good condition’ after open-heart surgery

The top Marine general is in “good condition” after receiving open-heart surgery Monday to fix the condition that caused his cardiac arrest in October, the Marine Corps said.

Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, hasn’t been on full duty status since he went into cardiac arrest Oct. 29.

The surgery, to repair a bicuspid aortic valve in his heart, was “successful,” and Smith is recovering at the hospital, according to a Monday evening statement from the Marine Corps.

The commandant plans to return to full duty status after his rehabilitation, the statement said, echoing comments Smith has made in recent months.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commandant Gen. Christopher Mahoney continues to perform the duties of commandant.

“General Smith and his family are focused on his rehabilitation and appreciate everyone’s continued respect for their privacy ahead of his full recovery,” the statement from the Marine Corps said.

The disclosure from the Marine Corps comes as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his team are under scrutiny for not informing the public of Austin’s Jan. 1 emergency hospitalization for several days.

The day after Smith’s cardiac arrest, Marine Corps headquarters issued a brief news release announcing that the commandant had experienced a medical emergency and had been hospitalized, leaving another general in charge .

The service initially declined to specify the medical emergency Smith had experienced or what kind of condition he was in, citing the family’s desire for privacy. But it disclosed within a week that Smith had experienced a cardiac arrest and provided more details in the ensuing weeks.

Smith, previously the assistant commandant, took on the duties of commandant when his predecessor, Gen. David Berger, retired in July.

His nomination to become commandant was stalled in the Senate for months by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who held up senior military nominations in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy. Even once Smith was confirmed as commandant , he lacked a deputy, due to the continued hold on Mahoney’s nomination.

Smith told reporters in the months before his cardiac arrest that he was essentially juggling the jobs of commandant and assistant commandant at once, working an 18-hour schedule he described as “not sustainable.”

The Marine Corps has said Smith’s bicuspid aortic valve , a heart abnormality that is present from birth, was the cause of his cardiac arrest.

Irene Loewenson is a staff reporter for Marine Corps Times. She joined Military Times as an editorial fellow in August 2022. She is a graduate of Williams College, where she was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.

海军陆战队表示，这位海军陆战队最高将领周一接受了开胸心脏手术，以修复导致他10月份心脏骤停的病症，目前“情况良好”。

海军陆战队司令埃里克·史密斯将军自 10 月 29 日心脏骤停以来，一直没有完全履行职责。

据海军陆战队周一晚间发表的声明称，史密斯接受的修复心脏二叶式主动脉瓣的手术“很成功”，他目前正在医院康复。

声明称，指挥官计划在康复后恢复全部职务，这与史密斯近几个月来发表的评论相呼应。

与此同时，助理司令克里斯托弗·马奥尼将军继续履行司令的职责。

“史密斯将军和他的家人正专注于他的康复，并感谢大家在他完全康复之前继续尊重他们的隐私，”海军陆战队在一份声明中表示。

海军陆战队的这一披露正值国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀及其团队因未向公众通报奥斯汀1月1日紧急住院数日而受到审查之际。

史密斯心脏骤停的第二天，海军陆战队总部发布了一份简短的新闻稿，宣布司令官突发疾病并已住院治疗，由另一位将军接管指挥权。

最初，该机构以尊重家属隐私为由，拒绝透露史密斯遭遇的具体医疗紧急情况或病情。但一周后，该机构披露史密斯曾发生心脏骤停，并在接下来的几周内提供了更多细节。

史密斯此前担任助理司令，在前任司令戴维·伯杰将军于 7 月退休后，接任司令一职。

史密斯的司令官提名在参议院被阿拉巴马州共和党参议员汤米·图伯维尔阻挠了数月之久。图伯维尔参议员以抗议五角大楼的堕胎政策为由，搁置了高级军官的提名。即便史密斯最终被确认为司令官，由于马奥尼的提名仍被搁置，他仍然缺少副司令官。

在心脏骤停前的几个月里，史密斯告诉记者，他实际上同时兼任指挥官和助理指挥官的工作，每天工作 18 小时，他形容这种工作安排“是不可持续的”。

海军陆战队表示，史密斯患有先天性二叶式主动脉瓣，这是一种心脏异常，也是导致他心脏骤停的原因。

艾琳·洛文森是《海军陆战队时报》的专职记者。她于2022年8月加入《军事时报》，担任编辑助理。她毕业于威廉姆斯学院，曾担任该校学生报纸的总编辑。