At the Same Base Where Vanessa Guillén Was Killed, New Allegations of Abuse Emerge Against Army Gynecologist

Blaine McGraw, an Army gynecologist at the Fort Hood military base, is under investigation for allegedly filming patients during intimate examinations. One of the accused’s former patients filed a lawsuit in early November. According to the document, McGraw “used his position of trust to sexually exploit, manipulate, and secretly record women under his care.”

The lawsuit also claims that McGraw’s chain of command enabled the abuse by ignoring patients’ complaints. 

Gynaecological violence at the military base

Jane Doe (pseudonym), wife of an active-duty Army service member, filed the lawsuit in Bell County, Texas. According to Doe, the gynecologist groped her and took intimate photos of her during her consultations. Moreover, he contacted her through “unsolicited, after-hours calls” to cultivate personal familiarity. 

Doe’s intimate pictures, along with the photos of at least 65 other women, were later found on McGraw’s phone when the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) finally opened an investigation. 

According to CNN, the reports from a veteran infantryman who caught McGraw filming his wife, also an army officer, sparked the CID investigation. Since then, various reported victims have come forward with allegations of gynaecological violence perpetrated by McGraw. One of the women was a sexual assault survivor who had requested not to be examined by male practitioners. However, McGraw examined her, dismissed her requests for a chaperone, and touched her inappropriately. She told CNN that none of her attempts to report the gynecologist’s abusive behavior were taken seriously. According to the outlet, she “hit so many dead ends” that eventually she gave up reporting.

The Army knew

The lawsuit filed by Doe also accuses McGraw’s chain of command. “The Army knew,” reads the lawsuit. 

According to the document, previous complaints at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii suggested a pattern of predatory behavior. “Rather than investigate or remove him from patient care, McGraw’s chain of command dismissed the complaint, laughed it off, and allowed him to continue practicing medicine,” says the lawsuit. “That institutional indifference was not just negligent—it was a license for a predator to continue violating women under the protection of a U.S. Army uniform.” 

NBC, which broke the news, interviewed Col. Mark Jacques, commander of Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. Jacques said “has sent a letter to more than 1,400 of the gynecologist’s patients to inform them of the [criminal] probe.” The medical centre has set up a hotline for reports. 

The Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii also posted a notice on its website. Per the announcement, they are notifying patients. However, they don’t address McGraw by name. 

Repeated offenses at Fort Hood raise alarms 

This isn’t the first time the Fort Hood military base has been embroiled in cases related to violence against women. In 2020, Latina Spc. Vanessa Guillen disappeared from her post at Fort Hood. Her remains were later found dismembered and burnt nearby. Guillen had previously shared with her family that she was being sexually harassed at the base. 

The main suspect of Guillen’s murder was Aaron Robinson, a soldier who shot himself while fleeing from the police. Robinson’s girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for helping him to hide Guillen’s body. 

Guillen’s murder sparked national outrage, prompting changes in the sexual harassment protocols related to the military. Following Guillen’s death, Congress passed the “I am Vanessa Guillen Act,” which takes sexual harassment cases out of the hands of military commanders. Instead, those complaints are supposed to be assigned to independent panels for investigation. The bill also criminalizes sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  

However, sexual offenses continue to be prevalent within military institutions

In 2024, alone, the Pentagon reported 8,195 sexual assaults involving members of the military. While the numbers represent a slight decline from the previous year, various experts agree that sexual violence goes vastly underreported in the military.

In 2024, the U.S. military launched a call to train and integrate 2,000 psychology experts on sexual assault prevention. However, earlier this year, various U.S. military branches halted training related to the prevention of sexual assault following President Trump’s orders to pause diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 

The Intercept also reported the Pentagon was “considering scrapping key regulations intended to address sexual assault within the military.” One of the regulations under review oversees the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program for military survivors.