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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is launching a program it says will turn the government into the model employer of military veterans.

President Barack Obama was to sign an executive order Monday creating the Veterans Employment Initiative. The program will underscore for federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training military veterans. It also will be charged with bringing more veterans into the federal work force and helping newly hired veterans adjust to working in a civilian environment.

Obama says honoring the nation's pact with its veterans means doing everything possible to help them find work when they come home.

The executive order also will create an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that will advise the president.