The following is a list of defunct paramilitary organizations.
Name | Region | Active between | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Barracked People's Police (KVP) | ![]() |
1948–1956 | gendarmerie | Formed by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany as the precursor to the National People's Army |
B-Gendarmerie | ![]() |
1949–1954 | gendarmerie | Formed as the precursor to the Austrian Armed Forces |
Bundesgrenzschutz | ![]() |
1951–2005 | border guard | Responsible for border patrol and transport security. Also precursor to the Bundeswehr |
Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment | ![]() |
1954–1990 | light infantry | Paramilitary unit of the East German secret service Stasi. Responsible for the security of the government leaders and government facilities. Dissolved during German reunification. |
Grenztruppen | ![]() |
1946–1990 | border guard | Responsible for border patrol and prevention of Republikflucht, including along the inner-German border and the Berlin Wall. Dissolved during German reunification. |
Dignity Battalions | ![]() |
1988–1990 | light infantry | Created to oppose a foreign invasion. Dissolved after the U.S. invasion of Panama. |
Fedayeen Saddam | ![]() |
1995–2003 | irregular unit | Created as an irregular military force separate from the Iraqi Armed Forces reporting directly to President Saddam Hussein. Dissolved after the U.S.-lead invasion of Iraq. |
Haganah | ![]() |
1920–1948 | Precursor of the Israeli army | Origins in guarding Jewish colonies |
Kuva-yi Miliye | ![]() |
1918–1921 | irregular unit | Created as irregular military forces serving the Grand National Assembly during the Turkish War of Independence. Integrated into the Turkish Army. |
National Police Reserve | ![]() |
1951–1954 | police reserve | Formed by the Japanese government and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers as a precursor for the Japan Self-Defense Forces during the Korean War. |
ORMO | ![]() |
1946–1989 | police reserve | Responsible for aiding the Milicja Obywatelska in suppressing demonstrations. Declined during the period of martial law in the 1980s and was officially dissolved by the Sejm in 1989. |
Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft | ![]() |
1955–1990 | police reserve | Served as riot control and anti-insurgency regiment functioning alongside the Stasi. Dissolved during German unification. |
Sarandoy | ![]() |
1978–1992 | gendarmerie | Nicknamed "Defenders of the Revolution", Sarandoy was founded after the Saur Revolution and specialized in counterinsurgency and internal security. At its peak Sarandoy had 115,000 men and women under their command. Sarandoy was run by the Khalq faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and would occasionally clash with the Parchamite-dominated KHAD. |
Sicherheitspolizei | ![]() |
1919–1935 | security police | Formed by Gustav Noske and the Reichswehr to control political violence from paramilitary parties after the German Revolution. Integrated into the Gestapo and the Reichswehr after the Nazi takeover. |
Zelene Beretke | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1991–1992 | Paramilitary | They were mostly active during the war in the early part of 1992 in northern and central Bosnia |