She remained in California waters, conducting routine operations, into the spring of 1949. During this period, the warship was reclassified as a radar picket destroyer and was redesignated DDR-807 on 18 March 1949. Reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet on 1 May, "Benner" got underway the following day, transited the Panama Canal on 12 May and arrived at her new home port of Newport, R.I., on the 23rd. The destroyer operated out of there on normal peacetime duty with Destroyer Division 102 (DesDiv 102), conducting routine exercises in Narragansett Bay and making three reserve training cruises over the summer, visiting New London; Poughkeepsie; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. In October and November, "Benner" participated in a bilateral amphibious landing exercise with units of the Canadian Navy on the coast of Labrador.