Office of Strategic Services

The roots of special operations forces can be traced back to the strategic challenges of World War II.

Explore the Green Beret’s history, weapons, and key battles in this definitive guide by former SOCOM members.

From an agency born of necessity and imagination, Donovan’s OSS planted the seeds that grew into the CIA and today’s elite special operations forces, proving that a few “glorious amateurs” can shape the future of warfare.

Rethinking the SF company—can smaller teams, more support staff, and less admin free Green Berets to focus on what matters: training?

SOFREP’s newest weekly columnist, former Green Beret Curtis Fox, is diving deep into Army Special Forces, OSS history, and much-needed DoD reforms. Buckle up!

From Shanghai’s ‘Gutter Fighting’ to modern special ops, CQB evolved through grit, innovation, and a relentless spirit to adapt and survive.

During World War II, many of the best operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), were women. They worked undercover, putting their lives at risk in occupied France, and running agent networks, conducting sabotage, and training the French Maquis.  Many lost their lives or went sent […]

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was an intelligence-gathering and paramilitary organization created during World War Two, one that was so successful that it led to the creation of both the CIA and Special Forces after the war. To this day, many intelligence professionals look back at the OSS in admiration and with nostalgia for […]

General Donovan motivated the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) research and development branch to fabricate weapons in-house for officers in the field. These weapons ranged from the amazingly complex to the remarkably fundamental. OSS guns and blades were intended for simple but effective use. American servicemen going into harm’s way had a variety of ingenious places to hide small, even miniature, compasses for […]

As a former Special Forces soldier, I love reading books about the Special Operations Forces of not only the United States but other countries as well. But after devouring everything I could get my hands on about Special Forces during the Vietnam war especially those men from SOG some of whom trained me when I […]

The story of Virginia Hall reads like the script of a Hollywood spy film, except that her exploits were true. She was an operative for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), later the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and finally the CIA. Despite the loss of her lower leg in a hunting accident, Hall […]

The CIA and the US Army Special Forces’ heritage is linked directly from the World War II OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Many of the operators who pulled classified missions for the OSS later became intelligence professionals or the original Special Forces troops. One such operator was William Colby who commanded Jedburgh teams in France […]