The OSS stands for the Office of Strategic Services, which was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. It was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branches of the United States Armed Forces. The OSS was responsible for collecting and disseminating intelligence, conducting covert operations, counterintelligence, espionage, and technical development. Its functions also included the use of propaganda, subversion, and post-war planning. The OSS was especially useful in providing a worldwide overview of the German war effort, its strengths, and weaknesses. The OSS employed nearly 13,000 men and women at its peak and operated for a little more than three years, from 1942 to 1945. Although the OSS had a short life, it was the foundation on which much of the modern US intelligence community has been built. OSS veterans led the CIA through the Cold War, and the US Army Green Berets and the Navy Seals can trace their roots to the OSS SO.