U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney are appealing to military veterans to support them in the November election.

Mr. Obama used a speech Monday in Reno, Nevada to a major organization of American war veterans to highlight his record on ending the war in Iraq and winding down the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan.

Romney will address the same group, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, on Tuesday.

Mr. Obama argued that he has been successful in fighting al-Qaida and that his administration has taken steps to ensure that veterans receive effective medical care when they return home.

When Romney speaks Tuesday, he is expected to renew his criticism of Mr. Obama's foreign policy and again assert that the president is weakening the military.

A Rasmussen poll released on Sunday has Romney leading the president 59 to 35 percent among likely voters who have served in the military, a result similar to a Gallup survey three months ago.