 On 27 August 1918 , El Occidente was transferred to the Navy and commissioned the same day with Lt. Commander E. S. Campbell , USNRF . El Occidente loaded cargo and 585 horses and mules , and sailed for France on 17 September . Five animals died or were destroyed during the voyage . Offloading her cargo at Saint @-@ Nazaire and Verdun , El Occidente returned to the U.S. on 1 November . 
