He graduated from Ballou Senior High School in 1979 as a top student and double lettered as an athlete in football and track. After attending college in the Midwest and learning about the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps, he traveled the world through as an officer in the United States Army. He has recently returned to the DC area as one of the Army’s highest ranking African-American officers. He writes books of poetry in his spare time.

Meet your neighbor – Colonel Rodney Edge
Edge was the captain of his football team at Ballou and now, not only captains, but colonels many more men and women in the US Army. He remembers his early days growing up in Southeast, DC, as the beginnings of his leadership skills. While talking with him, he uses words like leadership and honor and recalls the days of his youth as a strong part of his success today.

Edge remembers how he became a ROTC cadet at Northwest Missouri State, somewhat accidently, definitely not sought. He remembers the conversation he had with the NCO (non-commissioned officer) who approached him on campus.

“Hey, the Army doesn’t have enough black officers,” said the sergeant.

“So what? Why are you telling me this?” These were the questions of a Southeast teen who did not realize his life was about to change.

Then the NCO really caught his attention, “How would you like to make an easy A?”

“Cool, where do I sign up,” he remembers with laughter. “Everyone wants to make an easy A in college.”

And thus, this innocuous encounter that many a college student may have had at some time or another was the beginning of the highly successful career of one of the Army’s newest leaders.

The rank of colonel is the Army rank immediately below general. Currently attending the War College at Fort McNair, located at the point where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers meet, Col. Edge is in an elite group of Army officers. Barely 250 officers from all branches of the military service are hand-picked to attend each year.

Edge, 46, stays in shape by running four to six miles a day. His youthful appearance, though, belies his experience. He recounts his tours of service as a logistician that had him crisscrossing the US, commanding troops in maintenance, supplies, and overall management of budgets at Forts Knox, Lee, Bragg, Sheridan, Leavenworth and Campbell.

His tours also led him to foreign posts including South Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and more recently Afghanistan and Iraq.

On September 11, 2001, Edge was serving as a diplomatic advisor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was one of “not many,” in his description, non-armed American advisors assigned to Saudi. He described the duty as a “quasi-teacher.”

“That duty was advising the Royal family’s Army on how to be successful,” he adds.

He remembers the civilian staff members killed in the Al-Qaeda attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He recalls the “tough time” in Afghanistan, while commanding 650 troops, when he normally had no more than three hours of sleep. Positively, he remembers, the conversations about life, culture and the world with citizens he met from these other countries.

After Iraq, Edge returned to Washington, DC, full-time for the first time since graduating from Ballou.

Remembering Home
“I am proud of the city in which I grew up,” says Edge.

The only jewelry Edge wears is his remodeled Ballou High School ring. Gold with a red stone. It’s an obvious symbol of pride to him that serves as a remembrance of his values and his upbringing.

“I will never renounce that I grew up in Southeast, DC,” he says, amazed that people think he should.

His youth memories of Southeast were that of family, community support, respect for education and teachers. He talks fondly of his teachers from Ballou whom he now calls friends. He remembers his first day of little league football at the Boys and Girls Club #11 on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

“Just the humanities programs that were at Ballou, HD Woodson, Eastern and Wilson…those were some great programs. What can I say bad about my growing up? The city was educationally-based. You could get a good education, people respected their teacher…the whole neighborhood disciplined you if you did something wrong – that’s how I grew up.”

Ballou-graduate Rodney Edge became Colonel Edge, April 3. His Southeast roots were a big part of his success and on display.

“The day I got promoted to Colonel,” he recalls, “I had [former teachers] Emily Washington and Guy Tillman there. I had my Cub Scout den mother there.”

“[I invited] anyone who I could get there that helped influence my life, and I acknowledged them, because I am the product of many people who wanted to see me do well.”

And he has… and continues.

Rodney Edge is a published poet. His books can be found on Amazon.com.