Responding to the White House’s 2010 Joining Forces initiative to enhance the health care of veterans and military families, the Schools of Nursing and Social Work received a 3E Grant to advance the knowledge, skills and abilities of University at Buffalo (UB) nursing and social work students and community practitioners to better address existing and future unmet needs. The mission of Joining Forces-UB is to develop a comprehensive veteran and military family care educational program for students and community practitioners, and build a portfolio of interdisciplinary research. The project pursues this mission by capitalizing on the strengths and resources of the UB School of Nursing (SON) and UB School of Social Work (SSW) in partnership with local community organizations serving veterans and/or military families in the Western New York region.