On 11 July, she departed from Norfolk and headed for Panama. She transited the Panama Canal five days later, embarked several hundred U.S. Army passengers at Balboa, Panama, then sailed to San Diego, arriving there on 25 July. After embarking the men and aircraft of Night Fighting Squadron 102 and nearly 1,000 U.S. Marines, "Ranger" steamed for Hawaiian waters on 28 July, reaching Pearl Harbor on 3 August. During the next three months, "Ranger" conducted night carrier flight training operations out of Pearl Harbor.