From January 1961 to March 1961 he was at the Guided Missile School, Dam Neck, Virginia in the Polaris Command Course. From March 1961 to May 1963 he was assigned to the as commanding officer (Gold) and again awarded a Navy "E". From 1963 to 1964 he attended the National War College as a student. His dissertation there was "Nuclear Power for the U.S. Merchant Marine". Behrens also attended George Washington University, where he was awarded an MA degree in international affairs.