Desert Rangers

Desert Rangers are a faction living east of California, in the Nevada area. They are descended from people who survived the devastation when the Great War happened, likely living among the badlands of Nevada. This small community kept a strong survivalist contingent -- so they still had some small arms and books. They probably had something like the cliff-dwelling Indians going on for their town. Tycho is a descendant from one of the Desert Rangers. In 2271 the Desert Rangers signed an agreement with the NCR to be amalgamated with the NCR Rangers in exchange for NCR's protection of the Hoover Dam. A monument at the Mojave Outpost depicts this historic moment.

Fallout: New Vegas
By 2274, they owned a lot of land in the Mojave Wasteland, but the NCR turned up. They negotiated with the NCR and signed the Ranger Unification Treaty. They allied with the NCR, and gave the NCR their territory. They owned 6 ranger stations by 2281, and were led by a Chief Hanlon, hero of the first battle of Hoover Dam.

Tycho's answers

 * We Rangers hail from back east, what used to be called Nevada. Our heritage stretches back to the days of the Texas Rangers. We learn survival and combat skills in order to go out into the world and have a chance of surviving and making things better.
 * Had some pretty good training, and some good weapons, too. My grandfather was a Ranger way back when, and he taught my father everything he knew. Dad passed it on to me.

Appearances in games
In the first Fallout, Tycho mentions that his grandfather was a Desert Ranger, and that his grandfather taught him and his father those survival skills. In Fallout: New Vegas there is a monument at the entrance of the "Mojave Outpost" that depicts a Desert Ranger and NCR Ranger shaking hands, representing the pact between the two groups.

Behind the scenes
Tycho's grandfather was a Desert Ranger, a reference to Wasteland, the 1980s game which is considered to be Fallout's predecessor. That game also featured Desert Rangers facing challenges in a post-apocalyptic setting (specifically, the American Southwest).