Often times a veteran will continue to feel the strong bond that is created among fellow soldiers.

For Brett McLain, the connection to his colleagues has gone well beyond his 21 years in the U.S. Navy.

McLain joined the Navy right out of high school in 1978. Soon after, he was on an aircraft carrier, the USS Constellation. From there, he would spend most of his military career on the behemoth ships.

Sometimes, he said, working on the ship would prove to be difficult, as was the case when they were out to sea for 110 days straight in the Indian Ocean.

“There was a time there, when we did 110 days without pulling in,” he said. “One hundred and ten days of working 12 hours on and 12 hours off, and this was peace time. War time is pretty much going to be like that; they’re not going to be pulling into a lot of ports — it was part of the training that we did.”

Places to dock were rare in those situations, he said, which caused them to stay out for so long. When those singular ports in places like Perth, Australia, came up, many of the sailors received warm greetings from the people there, McLain said.

“We couldn’t stand at a bus stop. If they knew you were an American sailor, you always got a ride,” he said. “You might go out somewhere for supper in that country, and, if someone knew you were an American sailor, your money wasn’t any good there. They’d get your meal for you.”

In 1999, McLain retired from his post as a Naval recruiter and became the director of Veteran Affairs for Story County. The department, he said, is an important resource for the more than 7,000 veterans in Story County.

“We’ve got to take care of all the veterans we have right now,” he said. “Every day we’re making new war veterans.”

During his time in the service, McLain said, there had been many changes in how the Navy in particular worked. Stricter standards of appearance, higher income and shorter leave times help to keep soldiers on target and show they are cared about.

“The income was pretty low when I was first in, and that improved in the amount of time I spent in there,” he said.

He said today’s military personnel and combat veterans have had better experiences than ever before.

Despite improvements in the way military personnel and veterans are treated, McLain said, a lot of things could be improved.

“There’s still a long ways we could improve and what we can give veterans. Medical’s kind of trending down,” he said. “Fifty percent of the people who apply for medical benefits are denied.”

In 2001, a change in the regulations for Veterans Affairs hospitals divided applicants into eight categories, he said, which were decided upon when they applied. Categories one through seven were eligible for benefits. People in category eight were denied.

“If you call in category eight, you are denied, which I really disagree with, because everybody’s earned those services,” he said. “The way I feel, they’ve already paid the price.”

One of the reasons the change happened is because of the rise in the cost of prescription medicines. Although funding for the administration has gone up, the cost of medicine has also been rising and has put strain on how many people can be helped.

Other problems for veterans have manifested themselves as well. Many of the veterans who come in to see McLain are 61 or older and need medical help.

Coupled with new veterans coming home, McLain said, it was important for all veterans to know what benefits are available for them.