A 1995 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ed attended The University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a senior editor of the Alabama Law Review and a member of Order of the Barristers, the Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Team, the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board, the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society and the Honor Court. Before law school, Ed served with the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as an armor platoon leader, infantry mortar platoon leader, assistant battalion operations officer and battalion logistics officer.