Colorado Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joe DeBartolo of the COARNG's Field Maintenance Shop No. 6 discusses the benefits of community partnership with Colorado National Guard Leaders in Rocky Ford, Colo., Aug. 17, 2010. One example DeBartolo points to is the locally-grown watermelons, seen here, that were donated to the troops there to thank them for their assistance during a recent community event. Troops in this small community are well-known for the assistance they've provided in the aftermath of blizzards and floods, as well as being positive role models for area youth. Rep. Nancy Todd, chairman of the military and veterans committee of the Colorado House of Representatives, accompanied Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards, the Adjutant General of Colorado, as he conducted parts of his annual tour of COARNG facilities across the state Aug. 16-20, 2010. Edwards and his staff conduct these tours to not only engage their Guardsmen and look at the state of their training facilities, but as important, they engage local and state legislators, city and county officials, community leaders and others about the COARNG's role in that area of the state. This interaction may include, but is not limited to: what the COARNG and communities see as the role of the Guard being in that locale, what the COARNG has been doing and how it can expand its role to continue to support local needs. On Aug. 16-17, Rep. Nancy Todd, chairman of the military and veterans committee of the Colorado House of Representatives, accompanied the group to the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum; the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado in Grand Junction; the nearby Field Maintenance Site No. 3; the Grand Junction Armory; the Montrose Armory, the Durango Armory, the Alamosa Armory, the Pueblo Armory, Field Maintenance Shop No. 6 in Rocky Ford and the La Junta Armory. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Cheresa D. Theiral, Colorado National Guard/Released)