She was transferred to the Navy for operation by the newly established Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), becoming USNS Sgt.

In early December, she got underway for Wonsan but was diverted back to Yokohama, where she joined Task Group 90.2, the Hungnam evacuation force.

On 13 December, she sailed for that North Korean port; where, from the 18th to the 20th, she took on men and equipment as units fought back to the harbor after the entry of Communist Chinese forces into the conflict.

The ship offloaded at Pusan; then returned to Sasebo, whence she made another run to Korea before sailing for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco.

During April and May 1952, she again carried cargo to islands in the Central Pacific; then, in June, returned to logistics support of United Nations forces in Korea.

In the summer of 1954, she was called on to assist in Operation Passage to Freedom which moved Vietnamese from Haiphong to Saigon following the division of the former French colony.

Following one run, she resumed her transpacific operations and expanded her range to include ports in Taiwan; in Thailand, and in the Philippine Islands.