As he works to finalize his Afghanistan war strategy, President Barack Obama on Wednesday traveled to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor the nation’s soldiers on Veterans Day.

“There are many honors and responsibilities that come with this job, but none is more profound than serving as commander in chief,— Obama said.

The president in recent weeks has made his role as the head of the military more visible, holding numerous publicly announced war councils and traveling earlier this month to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base in the middle of the night to greet the coffins of soldiers who died fighting overseas.

The president later Wednesday will convene another White House meeting to talk to senior civilian and military advisers to discuss his policy toward Afghanistan.

In his remarks at Arlington, Obama used the moment to thank “our outstanding vice president, Joe Biden,— noting that Biden’s son Beau had just returned from Iraq.

The president also e-mailed veterans who are members of the Democratic National Committee-backed grass-roots group Organizing for America to thank them for their service.

“Today, on Veterans Day, my message to you is simple: Thank you,— Obama said in the message. “Thank you for your selfless service, for your valor, and for your strength of purpose that make all of us proud to be Americans.—