Although born in El
Paso, Texas, Colonel Edward C.
Cardon was raised in California. In 1973, his parents, Larry and Corrie,
and their children, Edward, David, Joe, Barbara, Ramona and Nathan moved to
Watsonville.
Edward graduated from Watsonville High
School in 1978. In 1982, he graduated from the
United States Military Academy at West Point, New
York, and was commissioned an officer in the United
States Army.
After graduation from
West Point, Edward was assigned to the 17th Engineer Battalion at
Fort Hood, Texas, as a platoon leader and battalion
maintenance officer. After this
assignment and completing the Engineer Officer Advance Course in Alexandria, Virginia,
Edward and his family departed for Germany. He was assigned to the 130th
Engineer Brigade and to the 3rd Armored Division, where he commanded
a combat engineer company. This was
during the final years of the Cold War, and it was a tremendous moment to be in
Germany the day the Berlin Wall
fell. While stationed in
Germany, he studied at night and
became a Professional Licensed Engineer.
In 1990, Edward was assigned to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, where he served as a staff officer
and as the engineer company trainer for Live Fire Operations. This is the Army's premier training
center and is widely recognized as a critical component for our success in
DESERT STORM. In 1992, Edward was
assigned as a writer and instructor at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort
Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he wrote doctrine for the
Army.
After graduating in
1994 from the Naval command and General
Staff College with a Masters Degree in Nation Security
Studies, Colonel Cardon and his family returned to Germany where he
served in the 3rd Infantry Division. In 1996, he was assigned to Land Forces
Central Europe, a NATO headquarters, as a geographic officer in Heidelberg, Germany. There he deployed to serve
as the Chief Geographic officer in Sarajevo,
Bosnia-Herzegovina,
responsible for all negotiations on borders, mapping and survey. He also attended the Armed Forces Staff
College at Norfolk,
Virginia. Returning, Colonel Cardon was again
deployed to Sarajevo to serve as the Chief of the
Initiatives Group for the Commander, Stabilization Force,
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Returning to
the U.S. in 1998, Colonel
Cardon assumed command of the 588th Engineer Battalion,
4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood. This was the high technology
test-bed division for the Army. After this command, he was selected to serve as
special assistant for strategy to General Shinseki, the Chief of Staff of the
Army, at the Pentagon from 2000-2002.
Colonel Cardon is currently attending the National War
College in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, he will be assigned to
the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia to command the Engineer
Brigade.
Colonel Cardon and his
wife of 20 years, Linda, have three children: Susan, a freshman at Texas
A&M, Kathy, a sophomore in high school and Christopher, who is in the
8th grade.
