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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has revived the legacy of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the World War II intelligence and special operations agency that helped pave the way for the Central Intelligence Agency, elevating the Pentagon's top special operations civilian to a status equal to the secretaries of the military departments.
In a memorandum dated November 2 and released on Wednesday, November 12, Hegseth ordered the Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict to be elevated to equal footing with the Military Department Secretaries. The secretariat has been renamed the Assistant Secretary of War for the Office of Strategic Services, known as ASW(OSS). The memo says that more than 80 years after the creation of the OSS, "it is time to elevate and re-establish the legacy of the OSS to meet the needs of the Nation."
The department's new OSS account announced the move on X on Wednesday night, writing: "Today, after 81 years, the OSS returns. Our operators deserve a voice equal to the burden placed upon their shoulders."
To support the upgrade, the newly designated office is to receive an annual budget reallocation of at least $45 million from operations and maintenance funds, and 100 additional personnel positions — 75 civilian posts, including at least five Senior Executive Service posts, within 60 days, plus 25 military posts from the Joint Staff — along with direct budgetary and acquisition authority over special operations-peculiar matters, according to the memorandum.
Hegseth is also asking Congress to establish a permanent Under Secretary of Strategic Services, a step that would require legislation. The special operations role is currently held by Derrick Anderson.
The original OSS was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July 1942 and led by Colonel William "Wild Bill" Donovan. Its operatives carried out espionage, sabotage and guerrilla operations behind enemy lines during the Second World War. The agency was disbanded in October 1945, and its functions were later folded into the CIA, which was created in 1947.
Not everyone is convinced Hegseth can make the change on his own. Kori Schake, who leads the American Enterprise Institute's defense team, told Breaking Defense that the secretary "does not have the authority to make that change or allocate that money," adding: "Congress would have to authorize the change and appropriate the money."