Lieutenant Colonel Ota was born and raised in Kealakekua, Hawai’i and graduated from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. He commissioned in the United States Marine Corps through Officer Candidate School in 2007, then graduated from The Basic School and Infantry Officer Course in 2008.
Lieutenant Colonel Ota served in the Fleet Marine Force from the platoon to the force level. Second Lieutenant Ota served as a rifle platoon commander with Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and deployed to Al Anbar Province, Iraq in 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. First Lieutenant Ota then served as a small boat company executive officer and deployed to the Western Pacific from 2010 to 2011 on patrol with Battalion Landing Team 1/7 and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
He then served as a company commander with Regimental Combat Team 5 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
After graduating from Expeditionary Warfare School, Captain Ota served as a company commander with Company K, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines and deployed to the Western Pacific in 2016. Major Ota then served as the operations officer for 3d Battalion, 3d Marines and deployed to the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia from 2017 to 2018.
After graduating from the Naval Postgraduate School and Naval Command and Staff College, he served on the staff of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific and with U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Lieutenant Colonel Ota then served as the executive officer of the 5th Marine Regiment.
He supported the Fleet Marine Force through service as a company executive office with Infantry Unit Leaders Training Company and as a company commander with Company L, School of Infantry – West.