Kalbfus was born in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania to the former Mary Electra Jones and Dr. Joseph Kalbfus, a nationally acclaimed wildlife conservationist who served as chief game protector of the state of Pennsylvania and executive secretary of the State Game Commission for many years. He attended Selwyn Hall in Reading, Pennsylvania before being appointed from the state of Pennsylvania to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. As a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he played football and was captain of the baseball team during his first class year, and trained afloat during the summers aboard the Naval Academy Practice Ship in 1895, 1896, and 1897. In the summer of 1898, during the Spanish–American War, he served aboard the battleship , witnessing the sinking of the and the Battle of Santiago Bay. Later that summer he participated in the blockade of Cuba aboard the steam yacht , the screw sloop , and the gunboat . After a final training cruise aboard the battleship , he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1899 and commenced the required two years of precommissioning sea duty as a passed midshipman. Voyaging to the Philippine Islands aboard the collier , he participated in the Philippine Insurrection in 1900 and 1901 aboard the gunboat and the cargo ship He received his ensign's commission on July 27, 1901.