Cantwell spent year underwater in Navy sub

MADISON – Rich Cantwell entered the U.S. Navy in December 1978. When he left the Navy, he held the rank of E5 or Petty Officer 2nd Class.

Cantwell completed basic training in Great Lakes, Ill. “The coldest winter ever …,” he recalls.

“I went to Poseidon Electronics ‘A’ School in Dam Neck, Va. followed by Fire Control Technician (Ballistic Missile) ‘C’ school, also in Dam Neck,” Cantwell said. “I then was stationed aboard the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine USS Lafayette SSBN 616 in Groton, Conn. for next 4.5 years.”

During that time, Cantwell spent 2.5 years in the Newport News, Va. Shipyard, working on complete overhaul of the boat and refueling the reactor core. “When the boat was operational, we made deterrent patrols from Holy Loch, Scotland. I spent approximately one full year underneath the water,” he said.

In February 1986, Cantwell moved to this area to work as an instructor for Intergraph Corporation, after working for the company as a Field Service Technician in New York City.

“After leaving Intergraph, I spent the next 20 years selling semiconductors for various local distribution organizations,” Cantwell said. Currently, he is working as a salesman at Jerry Damson Honda.

Both of his parents are deceased. “My father worked on the Statue of Liberty Ferry as a Mate/Deckhand. My mother was the Head Teller at

Metropolitan Savings Bank in Brooklyn, N.Y., right across the street from where we lived. It was hell trying to cut school,” he said.

Cantwell is an avid golfer.