Brittney Griner’s first stop will be the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO — Brittney Griner’s first stop when she arrives back in the United States will be not her home in Phoenix, but the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

An official briefed on the plans said a plane transporting Ms. Griner from the United Arab Emirates was taking her to the U.S. Army’s Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio; it was scheduled to land Thursday night.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the plans.

The Brooke Army Medical Center, located on the base, has long been a place the U.S. government has sent people who need to be debriefed or who require sensitive medical care after going through an ordeal like Ms. Griner’s. The hospital treats both civilians and military personnel who have survived torture or other trauma.

In February, Ms. Griner, a popular W.N.B.A. basketball player, was arrested at an airport in Moscow after customs officers said they found vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage. Her arrest came shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine and her case became entangled with the war and worsening relations between Washington and Moscow.