Jonathan Olbert, right, Operations division chief at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, receives an award on December 18, 2025, from James Amato, the executive technical director at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, for his excepted services during the lapse in appropriations during the 2025 government shutdown.

In 2016, Yuma Proving Ground’s Operations division chief, Jonathan Olbert, made the decision to give up his active-duty military career as an Army officer to focus on the three people in his life who mattered the most, his wife of 15 years, Nohemi, and their two young sons, Levi, 12, and Micah, 8.

Early Army career

Olbert was born in Tucson, Arizona. At age six, his parents moved him and his two older siblings to Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb southeast of Phoenix. After graduating from Gilbert High School in 2002, Olbert enrolled at Arizona State University, or ASU. Right after graduating from ASU in 2008, with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.

Early in his military career, Second Lieutenant Olbert was responsible for 36 soldiers who came from all across the United States, plus the management of construction equipment in excess of $40 million. He says he learned quickly how to lead both small and large teams. He credits a senior S-3 operations battalion officer at his first unit at Fort Polk in Louisiana, the 46th Engineer Battalion, who gave freely of his time to junior officers like him by teaching and enabling them to excel at their missions. He led by example and set high expectations, which Olbert says were always followed up with constructive feedback. This confidence boost leveraged Olbert’s ability to plan and execute a myriad of construction and military operations, plus helped him overcome his discomfort with briefing military audiences who came with their own unique perspectives and objectives in mind.

A critical decision

Although Olbert believes getting his Army commission was an important and pivotal moment in his life, which contributed to his overall growth and development as a person, he says his decision to exit the Army to focus his time on his family was both personal and intentional. His greatest inspiration of all is, hands down, his two boys. He says he is forever grateful for the opportunities the Army gave him, but he does regret the important moments in his children’s lives he missed and will never be able to get back. Being present to watch them grow into their own person and being close by to give them experiences they will remember for a lifetime has been priceless, and if he had to do it all over again, his decision would still be the same. Since exiting the military, his wife has also been able to pursue her own professional goals, something the demanding nature of being an active-duty Army officer hindered.

Major Jonathan Olbert, during his deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve at Camp Taji in Iraq in March 2019.

After ending his active-duty service, Olbert entered the Army Reserves in July 2016 as a civil engineer with the 395th Forward Engineer Support Team Detachment in Scottsdale, Arizona, and later served as an operations officer in the 1394th Transportation Surface Brigade at Camp Pendleton, California. During his time as a reservist, Olbert, who is airborne qualified, deployed to Iraq and Kuwait as the Construction Effects executive officer for the Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve with the 18th Airborne Corps Headquarters from September 2018 to September 2019. He landed in Kuwait on September 11, 2018, an iconic date for sure. After completing his deployment and finishing his tour of duty in the Army Reserves, he received an honorable discharge as a Major on March 2, 2021.

Legacy of service

Olbert comes from a family that has a history of serving its country. Both his grandfathers and one of his grandmothers served during World War II. His paternal grandfather, Richard Olbert, was an engineering officer in the Navy and served four years in the Pacific as a lieutenant. His maternal grandfather, Ernest Stude, a private first class, was an enlisted infantryman in the Army in Europe who served two years and exited the military after being released as a prisoner of war. His paternal grandmother, Joyce Olbert, served two years in the Navy as a radio operator in California.

A sense of purpose

Olbert has worked at Yuma Proving Ground, or YPG, since 2016 and is currently the Operations division chief in YPG’s Plans and Operations Directorate. Before being promoted to this position in September 2024, Olbert worked as a technology investments manager, where he worked with leadership, test officers and mission support personnel to understand the investments that were needed to meet current and future mission requirements. As division chief, he supervises 11 Department of the Army, or DA, civilians and is responsible for YPG’s operations and command taskings, mission protection, range environmental, facilities management, and intelligence and security functions. Olbert is the leader of an extraordinary team of staff members who accomplish a broad range of tasks to support the workforce and ensure mission success.

Yuma Proving Ground's Operation division chief, Jonathan Olbert, far left, on January 23, 2018, during the testing of an amphibious combat vehicle for the Marine Corps.

Whether serving as an active duty officer, an Army Reserve officer, or a DA civilian, Olbert believes in the same advice he gives his sons: find a career that combines what you’re good at, with what you like doing, with what makes decent money, and you’ll be happy and feel a sense of purpose every day. He’s proud to say he has enjoyed his fulfilling career and appreciates those around him who make his life a blessing.