After graduating from a technical high school, Russ Carfagno began his working career as a mechanic in the air conditioning industry. He took night classes to further his education. Eventually, he came to the realization that he wanted more: more training, more money and more responsibility. After decades of listening to his father’s sea stories about his life as a shore-based hospital corpsman, Carfagno knew three things: He wanted a rate in electronics, he wanted to do something different and he wanted to go to sea. A Navy recruiter asked him how he felt about being on submarines and after very little thought, Carfagno never looked back. He served six years as a sonar technician submarines.