A commander in chief fighting two wars, President Barack Obama plans to thank veterans for their service on Monday while pressing his commitments to wind down the Iraq war and redouble efforts in Afghanistan.

The president is slated to address members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars gathered in Arizona at the organization's annual convention.

"He'll talk about where we are currently in both those two conflicts. He'll talk about what we owe the men and women in uniform" as well as "their contributions to the betterment of those two countries," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.