After graduating from West Point in 1980, Ed was commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Army and served at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. After earning a Master's Degree from the University of North Carolina in 1987, Ed joined the English Department at West Point. He left the service in 1991 to pursue a career as a writer, public speaker, and communications consultant. Ed is the author of five novels published between 1990 and 1997. In 1998, he co-authored the field manual, Army Leadership, and in 2001 HarperCollins published the first of Ed's five non-fiction books, Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders. His latest title is The First Men In: US Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Day (HarperCollins).For the past several years Ed has been a keynote speaker on leadership, leader development, and ethical leadership. His list of clients includes universities, technology, and financial services companies, as well as federal organizations and military units.