The Department of Special Operations is a branch of the United States Government dealing with the licensing, training of, and observation of Thaumaturgical arts and sciences in the United States. Born from the disbanding of the worldwide teaching agreement for all Thaumaturgical colleges, the DSO is responsible for most of the magical training taking place in the US.

Dr. Cavendish, the legendary ‘Snapdragon’ of the first World War, initially came up with the idea of the DSO after returning from his tour of duty. It is rumored that the experience of trying to coordinate a team of Thaumaturgical soldiers, each with their own specific namings for common spells, ways to do them, regional variations, and different levels of ability as combatants…was unequivocally a nightmare.

The DSO does not have an actual ‘copyright’ to the instruction of Thaumaturgy. However, the application process for the creation or reinstatement of a civilian college is, at best, wildly restrictive.

The DSO has, in effect, become a separate military ‘wing’, in that the DSO has specific battalions that go to each branch of service as independently contracted consultants. This model is somewhat controversial, and entirely unique—it could allow the DSO to essentially have their consultants work in defiance of their superior officers. It is worth noting that the DSO has not done this, and publicly they have received nothing but positive remarks.

The Publicly Known, Currently Active DSO Units are as Follows.

—Division A, First Squad Ordinance Consultancy. Attached to the United States Army on a roving basis, Division A are considered the forefront of the uses of Magic as a weaponized resource. They are informally known as ‘Grenadiers’ and ‘The Hammer’. They are derisively called ‘Nukes’.

—Division Cad, Second Squad Logistics Consultancy. Attached to the United States Army on a roving basis, ‘DivCad’ as they are known are renowned for being adept problem solvers.

—Division I, Air Battalion Support Command. As a founding part of the still infant United States Air Force, Division I is largely considered to have a hand in the success of the fledgling branch. Called the ‘Dragons’ informally, they were known in the second World War to be a frightening sight to behold.

—Division N, Naval Support Consultancy, ‘Neptunes’

—Division Gamma, Marine Corps Special Operations Branch. Noted for being the only consultancy wing that has to undergo the branches basic training rather than their own independent version, Division Gamma, ‘Hammerheads’, are renowned for breeding the most streamlined mixture of Soldier and Magician of any of the consultancy divisions. The current Undersecretary of the DSO, William Pendegrast, is a graduate of the first Division Gamma class.

The Rumored, Somewhat Whispered about DSO Units are as Follows.

—Division Ohm, OSS Consultancy. There are whispers of a ‘Magical Spy’ program. There is nothing official to back this up.

—Division Omega, Independent Special Operations Taskforce. While never publicly avowed, one man, Specialist Cormac Van Buren, gave an interview to a magazine that was just popular enough to make sure the idea lived on even after the story was silenced. Van Buren claimed to be a part of Division Omega, informally known as ‘The Hounds’ and ‘The End.’ He claimed to have taken part in a number of ‘black ops’ missions, and that Division Omega operated outside of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. Van Buren later committed suicide in a hotel room in San Pedro California.