HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE — James Waggoner is a sergeant in the Army, a crewman on a 272-foot logistic support vessel, or LSV, and works out of an Air Force base.

Tomorrow, he and 31 other members of the 163rd Transportation Detachment will fly to Kuwait on a one-year deployment to operate an LSV throughout the Persian Gulf region, assisting the Army, Air Force and Marines.

"To be at Hickam, and be in the Army and be on a boat, it's kind of the best of all three (services)," said Waggoner, 28, who has relatives in Waipahu. "It's still Hawai'i (and) paradise, but it's definitely different."

Yesterday, the unit cased its colors for the trip and the 25th Infantry Division (Light) Tropic Lightning Band played at a deployment ceremony near Pearl Harbor's main channel.

The unit deployment is the first for the little-known water-based side of a service recognized more for its ground pounders.

Two of the Army's logistic support vessels — "roll-on" cargo ships with bow ramps that can handle 70-ton Abrams M-1 tanks — are based at Bishop's Point, and a third LSV that will be part of the Army Reserve is expected next year.

That sea-based presence is expanding. The 319-foot wave-piercing catamaran Spearhead, a vessel the Army is leasing, now is in Hawai'i, and is expected to be stationed here at least through next year. Longer-term, such a catamaran is expected to be used as a high-speed transport for the Army's Stryker brigade.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kevin Stone, who commands the 163rd Detachment, said a big part of the Hawai'i crew's mission will involve hauling damaged and shot-up equipment from Iraq to depot maintenance sites, and returning it after repairs are made.

Using an LSV already in theater, the crew is expected to sail to ports in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, possibly the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, and Djibouti.

A handful of LSV soldiers previously have deployed out of Hawai'i for Operation Iraqi Freedom, but it's the first unit deployment. The 32 soldiers leaving are a full boat crew.

"The thing I like about the whole unit going is we're used to working as a team here," Stone said. "We know each other, we know each other's families ... The camaraderie is there."

Waggoner said "it's definitely going to be a change, but my personal goal is I want to bring aloha. I have a bunch of fellow soldiers that are already out there with (the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry). I'm sure I'll see some of them."

Stone said he's bringing something from Hawai'i for the soldiers stationed at Kuwait Naval Base.

"We're taking them some kiawe wood, so they can have a cookout when we get there," he said. "They are short of kiawe wood."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.