After spending two weeks getting down in the dirt at Fort Pickett, Va., the Rangers of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment packed it up Nov.21 and headed home just in time for Thanksgiving.

More than 400 Rangers made the trek to Fort Pickett Nov. 10 to conduct training upon Virginia's unfamiliar terrain.

Perhaps one of the biggest clues that the Rangers meant business while at Fort Pickett were the seven flat-bed trucks loaded with equipment that was used during the deployment.

Everything from the most basic of supplies right up to Ranger Special Operations Vehicles (RSOVs) and light-tracked vehicles called Wiesels were part of the extensive arsenal.

While at Fort Pickett, each of the companies spent three days rotating through marksmanship training, platoon level live-fire exercises and Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) missions.

Hundreds of thousands of rounds and 20 ranges later, the Rangers are most likely ready to face any challenge that may arise.

According to Lt. Col. Daniel Allyn, commander of the 3rd Bn., 75th Ranger Regt., the Rangers received superb realistic combat training during their time at Fort Pickett.

Allyn said the training was enhanced by utilizing almost every weapons system in the Ranger's arsenal, to include RSOVs and anti-tank gunnery.

He said there was a lot of focus on the live-fire raid. Because each platoon conducted a blank and live-fire portion of the exercise during day and night, the battalion was trained to a much higher proficiency level.

He added that conducting the live fires at night was challenging, but the Rangers were able to continually improve and execute successful missions. "There were some significant gains made along the way," Allyn said.

"Overcoming the challenge of fighting at night completely under the infared spectrum and their success in doing so will be something they will take back with them. Lessons learned in that process are going to be integrated into upcoming training to ensure we don't lose the ground we've gained while we were there," he said.

Allyn added that the marksmanship and MOUT training modules of the deployment were also very successful.

The Rangers were able to spend time conducting marksmanship on a variety of ranges using a wide spectrum of weaponry. All of this helped increase marksmanship scores, Allyn said.

He also added that room and building clearing and movement and assault on the MOUT site were some of the most valuable training the Rangers received, since that is one of their primary tasks in a combat environment.

"Overall, we had a great deployment," Allyn said. "We were able to achieve all of our training objectives and everyone is at a higher combat readiness level than before we left."

Sgt. Brian Morneault, Headquarters and Headquarters Company. said the deployment to Fort Pickett was excellent training, especially for the newer Rangers.

He said it gave all of the Rangers a chance to witness the violence of action and experience a real wartime setting.

"It was a really successful deployment," Morneault said. "I think we have all learned a lot and are more proficient at our jobs."