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Origin
Pre-War
Desert-conditions training for Army Rangers took place at the Dugway Proving Ground, in Utah (about 120 kilometers southwest of Salt Lake City). At any one time there were about a company of Ranger trainees, plus training staff, all under the 7th Ranger Training Battalion. Also present at the base were about 1200 soldiers, scientists and staff connected with the Army Chemical Corps, plus their families.
Soviet strikes on Dugway consisted of a 100 kiloton air burst, and two 600 kiloton surface bursts (one on the airfield, one centered on the base facilities).
Post-War
The immediate survivors numbered about 200 Ranger trainees and a couple dozen training and support staff, all more than 10 kilometers from the nuclear detonations. About 50 of the trainees were not US citizens, but instead soldiers from the Philippines, South Korea, Central America, Germany, Canada, the UK, etc.
For a generation, they struggled just to survive. Radiation and cold weather forced them to move south, into Colorado and New Mexico. Eventually they established several so-called camps -- actually hidden, well-fortified locations -- for their families and other non-combatants. Within a generation, female Rangers appeared, but the general low birth rates and skewed male-to-female ratio of live births have kept them scarce.
The Rangers would often be forced to defend (or abandon) their mountain and high desert holdouts; but even though conditions and circumstances forced the Rangers to change, they never lost their connection with the American military. Living a mobile existence, apart from the other communities, lurking like shadows in the desert canyons and mountains and striking at night or from ambush, they evaded destruction and, in time, came to build a reputation as a group to be reckoned with. "Train hard - fight easy" is one unofficial motto.
The Rangers have taken it upon themselves to be the protectors of the American people. The many fledgling communities, settlements, and tribal villages between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains are, by their own choice, theirs to defend.
Pairs of Rangers regularly patrol the wastelands, not only guarding against outside intrusion, but also helping local villagers and townsfolk whenever needed against threats to their lives, freedom or livelihood. Sometimes this aid merely takes the form of lending expertise, such as in planning and constructing bridges, wells, cisterns, or even getting a power grid up; more often, however, the Rangers are petitioned by civilized folk to combat or investigate more menacing or mysterious threats -- most often, rampaging gangs of ravagers. In those cases, pairs of Rangers or small Ranger "teams" are dispatched by the Ranger command.
The Ranger plan or belief for many decades was that one day American government and civilization would be rebuilt -- but they felt (for various reasons) that the military should not be involved in governing. The most recent generation of Rangers, however, feels action may be preferable to waiting.
Population
The population of their camps, and the Rangers on missions, comes to about 1,000 persons. People under 18 account for about half the population; people too old, infirm or injured to do much work make up 10% of the population. Of the remaining 400 persons, about 40 are actively patrolling -- the rest are doctors, teachers, armorers, radio operators, librarians, etc., or Rangers in training, rest and rehab. Those 300+ non-patrolling, able adults are all armed and know how to use Ranger weapons, however.
About one-quarter of the children are adopted or foundlings. After 150 years, the ethnicity of the Rangers is pretty much the same as found in the towns they patrol in. Since children rescued without names are given last names of Rangers in the unit at the time of the War, there are a fair number of people with the last names Kim, Lee, Park, Choi, Santos, Ocampo, Torres, Muller, Schmidt, Schafer, Meyer, etc.
In the camps, Ancient (English) is the usual language of instruction and education (though the accent is a bit odd to 20th Century Americans); but most of the population are fluent in Komerk (Spanish, more or less); Road Talk and Unislang are usually known by patrolling Rangers.
A Nevadan warrior tribe, the Blood Drinkers, is allied with the Rangers.
Territory and Locations
They patrol between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. The smaller camps close and move every couple of years; but two large camps have been stable for decades. Camp Lambert is near REDACTED; Camp Ileto is at REDACTED; they each support about 400 persons and 4 pairs of patrolling Rangers. Currently there are four small camps, with 40 to 60 persons each; they are each "home" to 3 pairs of patrolling Rangers.
Camps are named for Rangers who died heroic deaths ... plenty of names are available.
Rangers are rarely seen north of the Snake River Plain, or south of the old Mexican border.
While they don't "hang out" in towns too often, a pair of Rangers, or a contact, can usually be found at:
Organization
Generally known among themselves as the Company. The tactical unit is a pair of Rangers -- 20 of these pairs are on patrol at any one time. The Company commander has the rank of Captain; each camp is commanded by a Lieutenant. Senior support personnel are Warrant Officers; other support personnel (the teachers, dentists, radio operators, etc.) are ranked at Specialists, sort of at the Corporal level. The Company commander is supported by the First Sergeant (rank of Sergeant First Class); camp commanders are supported by Staff Sergeants, with a few Sergeants to handle tactical defensive tasks; some patrollers are Sergeants, but most are Corporals or Privates First Class. Trainees are Privates.
Equipment and Resources
A Ranger on patrol will have a shovel or machete, combat knife, jack knife, wrist watch, flashlight, whistle, binoculars, compass, map, pencil and notepad, field dressings, poncho, hat, pack or saddlebags with food, spare clothing and mess/hygiene kit, bed roll (if mounted), rope, saddle and horse blanket, canteen, ammo carrying pouches or bandoleers, rifle, and sidearm.
Most rifles in the field are M1 Garands or M1903 Springfields in .30-06; the weapons at their bases are more diverse, with a good number of M14 rifles and rickety M60 machine guns in 7.62mm NATO caliber.
Vehicles
Horses (and their own feet) are the usual transportation for Rangers.
The Company has a few "ordinary" road-warrior-ey trucks, from pickup size to deuce-and-a-half size. They almost never drive these vehicles to their camps, preferring to either hide, trade, sell, or abandon them rather than leave easily-followed tracks for their enemies. Vehicles found inside the camps are for defense or escape, not for regular transportation. They do have a pretty good supply of stored-up diesel fuel in the large camps.
Aircraft
None
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