The Military’s Sexual Abuse Epidemic Has a Case Study: Fort Hood

Texas Army base Fort Hood is grappling with yet another sexual abuse scandal raising urgent questions about leadership failures and institutional accountability. Several months ago, I reported on higher-ups at the base failing to warn female soldiers that there was a pattern of violent sexual assaults in the barracks going on for over a year. That failure followed a tragically familiar trajectory at Fort Hood, a base that has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its handling of violence against women.

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In April 2020, a 20-year-old Specialist Vanessa Guillen was bludgeoned to death by a fellow soldier and his girlfriend. Before her murder, she told her mother that she was being sexually harassed by her killer, but was afraid to report it to leadership. Her brutal murder indicated that her fear was tragically justified. 

Now, Fort Hood faces another deeply disturbing case. An Army obstetrician-gynecologist stationed at the base has been charged with secretly recording intimate medical examinations of his patients. Major Blaine McGraw, who practiced at Darnall Army Medical Center, is accused of recording at least 45 women between January 1, 2025, and December 1, 2025, without their knowledge or consent.

According to charging documents, some of the recordings were made during breast and pelvic examinations. McGraw treated hundreds of female service members and military spouses during his tenure, raising concerns that the true number of victims may be significantly higher.

The U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel will be pursuing four charges and 61 specifications against the now former gynecologist. Over 50 of the specifications were for “indecent visual record”. Others included conduct unbecoming of an officer, willful disobedience of a superior officer, and making a false statement. Before Fort Hood, McGraw practiced medicine at an Army medical center in Hawaii from 2019 to 2023. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officials have stated they intend to notify former patients in an effort to determine how long this pattern of abuse may have persisted. 

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The lawsuit against McGraw also states that he had a history of making crude remarks and physical advances towards his patients. He also habitually dismissed female chaperones from the examination room and possibly failed to inform patients of their right to a female chaperone during gynecological check-ups. This lawsuit alleges that several women complained to leadership about McGraw’s behavior, but no action was taken. When I reached out to the Fort Hood public affairs office regarding prior complaints, I was not given an answer. 

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In a statement,Darnall Army Medical Center commander, Colonel Mark Jacques, said the allegations were incompatible with the mission of military medicine: “Everything we do in this organization, the reason people come to work every day, is to take care of patients, to take care of Army soldiers, their families and the community…those allegations were not in line with that. They were opposed to the safe treatment of patients, how we take care of patients with respect. And as a result, the investigation is ongoing.” McGraw is currently in prison while awaiting trial. 

Fort Hood’s failure to protect its female service members is no longer an isolated scandal. It is emblematic of a systemic crisis within the U.S. military. From drill sergeants covering up sexual assault at Fort Leanord Wood to the Coast Guard Academy being slammed with a $130 million lawsuit, the pattern is unmistakable. Fort Hood is not an anomaly. It is a warning.