The United States is not at war, but Stanley Adams is still serving the U.S. military -- only now he is fighting alone.

Adams, a Vietnam veteran, is currently the director and only employee of the Centre County Veterans Affairs Office. Because of cuts in government funding, his secretary was laid off last year, leaving him to service the county's 12,000 U.S. veterans alone.

"Services cost money and taxpayers are not willing to spend more money," Adams said. He added that because of increasing medical costs of aging veterans, less money is allocated to veterans offices for the aging World War II population and technological advances.

Adams said although he is certain that he could do much more with additional help, he survives with what he has.

"I deal with practical reality," he said. "These are my resources and I use them."

Harry Maier, president of the Penn State University Veterans Organization, said Adams would be able to accomplish a lot more if he had some help.

"I imagine he could do more if he had someone to take care of the day-to-day stuff," said Maier (senior-labor and industrial relations). "Then he could spend more time dealing with specific cases and getting in touch with organizations."

Veterans, their spouses and dependents can receive benefits such as educational, medical and pension assistance by contacting Adams directly. Veterans can also be referred by agencies, such as veterans hospitals and homeless shelters.

The majority of people Adams serves are adults -- 50 percent are veterans and 50 percent are veterans' spouses and children.

George Zonge Sr., a member of State College Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 321, 139 N. Barnard St., said, "Stanley is on call all the time. We're so lucky we've got the county's service officer as a member of our post."

Zonge said he is confident in Adams' abilities, and when he refers someone to the Veterans Affairs Office, he knows Adams "will take care of everything."

The purpose of the state-mandated office is to assist veterans and their families in securing their benefits from the county or the state, Adams said.

Pennsylvania, like most northeastern states, has one veterans office in each county. Although the state mandates that each county has one director, each county determines the number of employees its office will have.

But the number of employees ultimately comes down to the amount of funding available, Adams said. For example, Blair County has three times as many veterans as Centre County and also has only one department head.

Adams also is an adviser to various veterans programs and is a member of about five veterans organizations. His military and human services background, as well as his experience as a local volunteer, has left a good impression on the people Adams helps each day.

Adams said the best part of his job is the satisfaction he gets from "seeing people improving their lives." But the negative side of the job is working with bureaucracy, he said.