A native of Dedham, Massachusetts, he retired from the navy as an admiral after serving as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1988 to 1990.

[2] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: [3] Designated a naval aviator in 1958, Edney's first operational flying tours were with Air Antisubmarine Squadrons 27 and 24.

Following his graduate studies at Harvard, he served a two-year tour in Washington, D.C., as a special assistant to the deputy chief of naval operations for research and development.

In June 1981, Edney was designated a commodore admiral and became the sixty-ninth Commandant of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy.

Edney retired in August 1992 and was appointed as an éminence grise for the Center for Naval Analyses and the National Defense University.

In April 1997 Charles R. Larson selected Edney to fill the post of Distinguished Professor of Leadership at the United States Naval Academy.