Dr. Glifort was commissioned and received a Bachelor of Life and Behavioral Sciences (pre-medicine) degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, in 1974. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Connecticut Health Center School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, in 1978. Dr. Glifort trained at the Air Forces largest medical center, Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, in Internal Medicine from 1979-1981.  In 1986, he received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He completed the residency in Aerospace Medicine in 1987, at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, TX. He is board certified in both Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine.

From 1981 to 2001, Dr. Glifort practiced as a Primary Care Physician in the fields of Flight Medicine and Family Care, Occupational Medicine, Industrial Hygiene, and Public Health serving at various domestic and overseas locations. He has taught for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and has also lectured throughout his career on various topics of Preventive Medicine, Public Health, and Aviation Medicine.

During his career, Dr. Glifort has provided operational management and aeromedical consultation for the Air Forces worldwide aeromedical evacuation system, as well as aerospace medicine consultation and policy development at a major headquarters responsible for 17 Air Force bases. He also directed the Air Forces Clinical Sciences Division, Armstrong Laboratory, involving oversight of a $7 million budget for research and development, tertiary aeromedical waiver actions for aviators, and management of their 17,000 case files.

Dr. Glifort was selected as Medical Director for Occupational Health, Preventive Medicine, Environmental Surveillance, Public Health, Medical Readiness, and Health Promotion in August 1997, for a hospital Board of Directors/Executive Staff also managing completion and occupancy of a 50 bed Department of Defense (DoD)/VA Joint Venture Hospital in Alaska.  This included the transition to TRICARE, the DoD managed care system, supporting an area beneficiary population of 40,000. His final Air Force assignment began in August 1999, at the David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis AFB, CA. Here he served as Medical Director for Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Public Health, Medical Readiness, Health Promotion, Optometry Services, and the second largest clinical Hyperbaric Medicine facility in North America. As a member of the Board of Directors/Executive Staff of this teaching hospital, he contributed to the management of approximately 2,000 hospital personnel, and administration of TRICARE programs and initiatives. David Grant, the Air Forces second largest medical center, served 79,000 regional beneficiaries with over 400,000 outpatient visits, 5,700 admissions, 40,500 dental visits, and 129 research protocols, on a budget of $161M.

In September 2001, Dr Glifort became the Area Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer for the Alaska Area Native Health Service, encompassing one of twelve regions of the Indian Health Service, within the Department of Health and Human Services. In his capacity as the only medical professional in the federal Area Office, he has worked with the Area Director and residual staff to promote the health of approximately 130,000 Alaska Native/American Indian beneficiaries through partnerships with 40 compacted/contracted tribes and tribal organizations, as well as other federal, state, and private groups, involving a budget of more than $500M. He has additionally served as the Acting Area Director since October 2007.