The Pentagon has announced two initiatives to strengthen the status and authority of the office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC). The first is to rename ASD SO/LIC to the Assistant Secretary of War for the Office of Strategic Services (ASW(OSS)) and to institute internal organizational changes that elevate ASD SO/LIC’s role within the DoD. The second is to gain legislative support from Congress to elevate the office to an undersecretary level.
The move by Hegseth will elevate the ASD SO/LIC to be on equal footing with the Military Department Secretaries. This is an internal DoD move but does not mean that ASD SO/LIC has acquired all the statutory powers of a service secretary. The use of ‘Office of Strategic Services’ in the title honors the special operations heritage from World War II when the Office of Strategic Services conducted intelligence and special operations activities in support of the wartime objectives against Germany, Japan, and their allies.
The DoD memorandum directs the reallocation of at least $45 million annually in operations and maintenance funding to support the office’s operations. In addition, the office will receive 75 civilian personnel billets, including at least five Senior Executive Service positions, and 25 joint-qualified military billets. The memorandum also directs the elevation of ASD(SO/LIC) to Code 2 status within the department’s internal order of precedence, providing greater access to senior-level policy, acquisition, and resource allocation deliberations.
The Secretariat for Special Operations (SSO) is the civilian staff organization that supports ASD SO/LIC in exercising oversight of U.S. special operations forces. The memo has announced that the SSO will be renamed as the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) as a secondary title. this is presently an administrative designation. Under Title 10, Section 139b, the organization’s legal name remains Secretariat for Special Operations until Congress changes the law.
The following historical organizational charts illustrate the placement and structure of ASD SO/LIC and its supporting Secretariat prior to the November 2026 reorganization.
Image: Organization of the Department of Defense, showing the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) highlighted in red and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) among the combatant commands. Source: Department of Defense, December 2013. Historical organizational chart.
Image: Organization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, showing the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC) highlighted in red under the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Source: Department of Defense, Organization and Management Planning, March 2010. Historical organizational chart.
Image: Organizational structure of the Secretariat for Special Operations (SSO), illustrating its civilian leadership and principal directorates supporting ASD SO/LIC. Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Special Operations Forces: Documented Policies and Workforce Planning Needed to Strengthen Civilian Oversight, GAO-24-106372, March 2024, Figure 1, page 7.
The initiative is intended to give the civilian leadership responsible for U.S. special operations forces greater influence over defense policy, budgets, acquisition, and force modernization, addressing a longstanding institutional imbalance between USSOCOM and the military departments.
The renaming of ASD SO/LIC and the Secretariat for Special Operations are internal administrative measures. Permanent statutory changes will require congressional approval. Hegseth has directed the preparation of legislative proposals to establish an Under Secretary of Strategic Services, potentially through a future National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation would need to address existing provisions of Title 10 of the United States Code, particularly Sections 138 and 139b, which establish the responsibilities of ASD SO/LIC and the Secretariat for Special Operations.
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References:
DoD press release on ASD SO/LIC changes, “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Elevates Special Operations Leadership to Revitalize the Legacy of the Office of Strategic Services, DoD, November 12, 2026.
https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4643910/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-elevates-special-operations-leadership-to-revital/
Memo by the SECDEF Pete Hegseth on the elevation of ASD SO/LIC status within the DoD. November 2, 2026, PDF, 4 pages.
https://media.defense.gov/2026/Nov/06/2004024473/-1/-1/1/ELEVATION-OF-ASSISTANT-SECRETARY-OF-WAR-FOR-SPECIAL-OPERATIONS-AND-LOW-INTENSITY-CONFLICT.PDF
“ASD SO/LIC – Reform Needed Within DoD?”, SOF News, March 17, 2020.
https://sof.news/defense/solic/
Image: Top image by DoD.
Editorial Note: The charts depicted above are historical and do not reflect some organizational changes that have occurred in the past several years. This article will be revised to incorporate more accurate organizational charts.
