Paul M. Gahlinger - Biography

Biography

Paul Gahlinger is the son of Anton Josef Gahlinger (1918–1959) and Margrit Rosa (1917–2007), both of whom were citizens of Switzerland. His father was a career military man who commanded the Swiss cavalry during World War II and later served as the Captain of the Swiss Guards under Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII. The family subsequently emigrated to Canada, where his father bought a produce farm. The father’s early death plunged the family into poverty. Paul Gahlinger left school at age 14 to become a farm worker, and later worked underground at Giant Mine gold mine near Yellowknife in the Canadian Northwest Territories and was a logger for MacMillan Bloedel Limited on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. At age 20, he gained entry to college despite lacking a high school education or diploma. He eventually achieved a B.A. in Philosophy, M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology, M.P.H. in Epidemiology, and M.D. degrees. He studied at numerous universities, with degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis. (This information is from The Cockpit.)

Dr. Gahlinger is a citizen of Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. In 1992, he attained notoriety by his record-breaking flight in a small airplane from California to Egypt (described in The Cockpit).

In 1996, Gahlinger became Chief Medical Officer of Johnston Atoll, a chemical weapons demilitarization site in the mid-Pacific. Under his stewardship, the island obtained JCAHO (Joint Commission) and ISO-9000 accreditation and certification by the Chemical Weapons Convention for health care.

In 2008, Gahlinger started MediCruiser Family Practice & House Calls. This company has a traditional clinic, telemedicine operations, and a Doctor's house call service. It is located in West Jordan, UT.