Navy Master Chief Tim Preabt, who grew up in Williston, stands in front of the USS North Dakota, currently under construction in Connecticut.
Tim Preabt did all the normal things boys do growing up in Williston: He played baseball, fished for walleye and hunted deer and pheasant.
As an adult, however, he works on something most Williston residents have never even seen in real life: A submarine.
A 27-year veteran of the Navy, Master Chief Preabt is preparing to embark on his fifth submarine assignment, and his next sub bears a familiar name: the USS North Dakota.
“I’ve always been on submarines,” Preabt said, adding he is very excited to be a part the North Dakota — which will be one of the most advanced ships in the Navy when commissioned in 2014. A christening ceremony is scheduled for 2013, which will be followed up with a series of tests and qualifications.
“It’s the most technologically-advanced platform that’s out there right now,” Preabt said of the Virginia Class sub being built in Connecticut.
Preabt and other crew members are currently training to become familiar with the ship’s weapons and other systems.
Eventually, the North Dakota will hold a crew of 136 personnel, and Preabt will be the senior enlisted man on the submarine.
“I work directly for the captain,” he said. “I’m responsible for the crew’s well being and day-to-day operations.”
When he’s not out supervising sailors, Preabt spends much of his time with his wife Linda, and their three children, Rylan, 16, Sierra, 9, and Molly, 5.
Linda is also from Williston and still has family here.
“My wife and I are really proud of being from Williston,” Preabt said, adding the family tries to make it home once a year.
Preabt was born in Minot, and then moved to Williston with his parents as a child in 1977. He went to Webster Elementary, Williston Junior High and Williston High School. Before finishing WHS, his family moved to Mandan, where he graduating from high school.
However, when he thinks about growing up, it’s Williston that comes to Preabt’s mind first.
“I grew up there most of my life,” he said, adding he worked at the Williston Pizza Hut as a teenager.
He joined the Navy the day after graduating high school and nearly retired a few years ago, but a talk with his grandmother in Minot changed his mind.
Preabt said his grandmother had heard there will be a new ship named the North Dakota, and told him about the opportunity.
“She has always been one of my strong supporters,” Preabt said.
After serving on his last submarine, the USS Key West, Preabt said he applied for the North Dakota job and got it.
Preabt said the USS North Dakota will be his last submarine to serve on, and he plans to retire about 2015 or so.
With eight deployments and visits to 25 countries under his belt, Preabt’s work with submarines has been a great ride.
“The submarine force is one of the nation’s greatest assets,” he said, adding it is often submarines that deploy SEAL teams and gather intel.
And with his final Naval cruise to be on the USS North Dakota, Preabt’s career, in a way, has come full circle. Almost.
After retirement, Preabt and his family plan to move back to North Dakota.
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