LANSING (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder has established a state office that will help Michigan’s military veterans get the federal benefits they’ve earned.

Snyder signed an executive order Friday creating the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. It will help connect former service personnel with government departments and service organizations that can help them apply for benefits such as health care, education and employment assistance.

Those programs are scattered among the federal Veterans Administration and 15 state departments. That can make it confusing to apply. The new office is designed to provide a one-stop-shopping model that can help navigate the bureaucracy.

Michigan has more than 650,000 veterans – a number that rises with troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The state recently received V.A. accreditation to work directly with veterans seeking benefits.

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