Posted on 11/01/2023 6:04:42 AM PDT by Red Badger
The United States top officer and commandant, General Eric Smith, was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack on Sunday evening while out jogging.
Two defense officials confirmed the incident to USNI News.
General Smith was seen on Sunday greeting runners at the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA before the reported heart attack.
Noah Gray, chief of communications for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said:
“Witnesses said that they saw an adult male running, then walk down the street and stumble, falling face-first on the sidewalk.”
“At that time, they called 911 and started chest compressions. Our crews arrived and provided CPR and transported the patient to a nearby hospital,” Gray said.
The US Marines Corps said Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, a three-star general, is performing the duties of the commandant.
Yahoo News reported:
Heckl is the deputy commandant for combat development and integration. There is no Senate-confirmed assistant commandant in place.
Smith was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 21 and was sworn into office the following day. On Friday, Smith told reporters he was working two jobs as Marine commandant and assistant commandant of the service, as his Number 2 officer, Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, had not been confirmed.
Hundreds of general and flag officer nominations are stalled in the Senate over Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s hold on unanimous consent as he protests Pentagon policy that reimburses service members for out-of-state travel for reproductive healthcare, including abortions.
Smith commented on the situation Friday at a Military Reporters and Editors event.
“I am still doing both of those jobs and using my staff as best I can to fill in where the assistant commandant would normally be full-time, because I simply can’t be in two places at once.”
The Daily Mail reported: Smith, a career infantry officer, has commanded at every level, serving multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, including time in Fallujah and Ramadi during heavy combat in 2004 and 2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He later was the senior military adviser to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and in 2019, took over as the deputy commandant for combat development.
In that post, Smith worked with his predecessor, General David Berger, on a broad campaign to transform the Marine Corps to better be able to fight amphibious wars in the Pacific after years of battling terrorist groups in the Middle East.
The plan was lauded by many in the Pentagon and Congress as a critical way for the Marines to prepare for a potential conflict with China.
Smith and Berger argued that the changes would improve the Marine Corps’ ability to fight in contested areas, particularly within striking range of an enemy.
That element is critical in the Indo-Pacific, where thousands of U.S. and allied forces are easily within missile — or even rocket — range of both China and North Korea.
But some of the moves, including the transfer of Marine tanks to the Army, triggered sharp criticism from a group of retired Marine generals.
During a speech at a naval conference in February, Smith defended the decision as critical to modern warfare against highly capable enemies.
So far, so good...
My wife has had three heart attacks and has almost no plaque. Spontaneous Coronary Dissection happens out of the blue. Blocks the artery. 35 days later you can barely see it on a angiogram.
YOW!
The key is to wake up everyday.
You’re welcome. :)
“You don’t have to be a fat slob to have a heart attack”
That’s true. I ran and raced for many years (five miles under 29 minutes, Boston Marathon under three hours) and played rec B’Ball 2-3 times a week when the arthritic knee made the training too painful. I still had a blockage (stented) in 2011 then died on the court Thanksgiving weekend of 2018, of fibrillation (A or V, I forget which). God’s Grace and quick medical care brought me back.
Obviously I did not read the posts before posting. LOL.
I am in my 60’s now. My 50’s had it share of peers “dropping dead.” Sometimes it seems that is all some folks get.
There are no guarantees.....................
Exercise is bad for you.
It’s pretty rare. She had the last one last April. We had to explain what it was to the Emergency Room doc. They wanted to rush in and put in a stent—which is the worst thing you can do.
I actually carry her medical chart on my phone to show docs if we go through out again.
Docs are good when they see stuff every day. Not so much with a 2-4% occurrence thing.
A cardiologist named Dr. Gundry also frowns on jogging. He noticed marathon runners never live long lives. He wrote a thesis stating that runners are telling their own genes “I really suck at finding food and need to expend a lot of energy looking for minimal nutrients.” So their own genes eventually kill them off due to inefficiency to the herd. Dr. Gundry’s theory is that your genes aren’t interesting in preserving you as an individual, but more so for the whole of society.
Good thinking.
Darwin was wrong.
It’s not the survival of the fittest,
it’s the culling of the maladapted.
You don’t have to be a fat slob to have a heart attack.................
___________________________
As a former Marine, this is highly unusual. By the time you reach 58 in the MC, you have undergone dozens of annual physicals, and PT tests, while maintaining peak physical conditioning for your age group. While anything is possible, it is highly unusual that the General’s heart condition would just present itself without some intervening cause. Marine leaders lead by example and Austin’s mandatory vax program is the culprit, in my opinion. Some hidden adverse events, like the General’s, are simply too out in the open to be swept under the rug. However, a lot of injured servicemen cases will never see the light of day. It’s a sad situation this uncalled-for attack on humanity has wrought on all of us.
Unless you specifically look for clogged arteries using special tests for that purpose, you never know until it’s nearly too late.
Thankfully I had some really good doctors..................
And others have a negative reaction to the “Vaccines” Trump gave us.
Doctors who kept have kept you away from the jabs?
“There are ample studies that back this up, if you care to Google it.”
Yeah. When I want the truth about heath, I ask the experts at Google....
BTW - Male, 5’8”, 160. Was 185 before Keto changed my life at 60. Few men weigh over 200 pounds of muscle. They do exist but are rare.
And women - half of the population? Not many women have a good reason to weigh more than I do, although the average female weight in the USA is 171.
“Granted, you’re supposed to stay on the horse and the horse is supposed to stay off of you!”
Got a couple living in my back yard. The first rule of riding is keeping the horse between you and the ground but some horses haven’t learned that rule!
;>)
I had the heart op before the Covid hit big................
I also ought to add that I think walking IS a superior exercise if one has the time. 80% of the benefit with 20% of the wear and tear. But time is an issue for some and a 1-2 mile jog is WELL inside most humans structural capacity.
Marathons are a different issue. I’m a 3-4 mile jogger myself, but my wife and I (retired) try to go for a 5-8 mile hike once a week.
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