HONOLULU -- A new commanding officer will take charge of the Coast Guard cutter Rush during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at the Coast Guard's Integrated Support Command offices in Honolulu.

Capt. Robert J. Tarantino will relieve Capt. Peter J. Bergeron, Rush's commanding officer since August 2006. Bergeron's next assignment is in Boston Mass., where he will serve as the sector's response commander.

Bergeron was responsible for the cutter's effective involvement in Coast Guard search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security, and international operations across the Pacific Ocean.

Tarantino comes to the Rush from a tour at Harvard University where he completed a National Security Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. This is Tarantino's sixth tour at sea and his third command aboard a Coast Guard cutter, according to a Coast Guard news release.

Capt. Douglas J. Wisniewski, Coast Guard Pacific Area chief of staff, will preside over the ceremony.

Rush is one of two 378-foot high endurance cutters based in Honolulu. Rush's primary missions include defense operations, enforcement of laws and treaties, and search and rescue throughout the Pacific. Rush has a complement of 20 officers and 148 crewmembers.

Additional information about the Coast Guard cutter Rush can be found at www.uscg.mil/pacarea/cgcRush.