 "Dennis J. Buckley" departed New York on 1 March 1949 for a brief period of operations on the west coast, returning to the Canal Zone 10 May for exercises in Caribbean waters.She was re-classified a radar picket destroyer, DDR-808, on 18 March 1949.She then operated along the eastern seaboard from Norfolk to NS Argentia, Newfoundland and sailed from Newport on 15 April for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet, returning to Newport on 6 October for local and Caribbean operations.