A Kauai native will take the helm of a 110-member patrol boat named after the island of Maui which is now patrolling the Persian Gulf.

Lt. Dion Nicely, a 1996 Kapaa High School graduate, will assume command of the 110-foot Coast Guard cutter on May 22 in Bahrain. The Coast Guard has six patrol boats, two law enforcement detachments and more than 6,400 “;Coasties”; assigned to the region. The white patrol boats typically remain deployed for long periods of time in the Persian Gulf, while their crews are swapped out every six months.

During a recent island visit before deploying to Bahrain, Nicely, 30, said taking command of a ship was “;something I had wanted to do and had been preparing to do since I entered the Coast Guard Academy in 1997. This is an adventure. ... Few Coasties get to have the privilege of command, and very few get the opportunity to serve as commanding officer in an area such as the Arabian Gulf.”;

Nicely graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2001. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Virginia in 2007.

Nicely said the six cutters in the Persian Gulf “;conduct maritime interception operations, maritime security operations, river patrols, offshore oil infrastructure security and training engagements with regional partners.”;

Since 2002 the Coast Guard has supported coalition forces during port renovations, provided security forces to various ports, enforced United Nations sanctions and prevented the entry of contraband into a war zone. The patrol boats also perform one of the world's riskiest and most politically volatile missions: boarding ships in the Persian Gulf to search for contraband, weaponry and suspected terrorists.

Nicely served on the cutter Rush as a navigator out of Honolulu from 2001 to 2003 and was executive officer on the Coast Guard cutter Kodiak Island, which is home-ported in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 2003-2005. Before reporting to Bahrain, Nicely spent two months in pre-deployment training conducted by a private mainland security firm. Courses included close-quarter battle drills; law enforcement; chemical, biological and improvised explosive device threats; and combat casualty care.

“;It's going to be fun, exciting and different,”; said Nicely, referring to his new assignment.

In September the Coast Guard signed an $88 million contract for the design and construction of the first 154-foot Sentinel-class patrol boat that will eventually replace the aging Island-class cutters, like the Maui, which have reached the end of their service lives.

The Coast Guard initially hopes to build 34 new cutters for $1.5 billion. The average unit price of the new ships, once production begins, should be $45 million to $50 million. It envisions 58 new Fast Response Cutters, which would be the smallest of three new cutter types envisioned under the Deepwater program to upgrade the Coast Guard's ships, aircraft and systems.