Territorial Defense Forces ( Poland ) The Territorial Defense Forces ( ) was an armed force responsible for the internal security of Poland and separate from the Polish Army . The OTK existed from 1965 until 2008 . As initially organized , OTK forces included both an " Internal Defense Army " and the " Border Defense Force " . This style of internal security organization corresponded that used by the Soviet Union during the same period . After the fall of communism in Poland , changed political priorities led to the reduction of OTK forces . By 1 July 2008 , the last of its battalions were converted to mechanized units of the army . The OTK was founded in 1965 to help defend Polish territory in situations where the Polish People ' s Army was engaged under Warsaw Pact obligations outside the country . Although their primary mission was defending the homeland , the OTK also had the Warsaw Pact mission of transporting Soviet forces and supplies across Poland in wartime . Formed mainly from units shifted from the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the OTK went under a new Inspectorate for National Territorial Defense in the Ministry of National Defense . The OTK included the Internal Defense Forces ( , the largest unit ) and several smaller territorial defense units . Immediately after World War II , the WOW ' s predecessor organization , the Internal Security Corps ( ) had suppressed the Home Army , which had been loyal to the London government - in - exile ; the KBW had also played a large part in suppressing the Poznan workers in 1956 . The WOW , which totaled 65 , 000 troops in 1982 , were equipped as mechanized infantry units , including tanks . The component units , which were organized at district level , had the missions of engaging hostile troops on Polish territory and eliminating local underground elements . The units were to receive the same individual training as regular ground forces , although they did not participate in large - scale coordinated exercises . By 1990 the WOW was not a credible military force . The organization included many nonmilitary patriotic and social groups , such as the boy scouts , and many military retirees found soft assignments in OTK units . Although the force had a military commander , it was not under the direct control of the Ministry of National Defense . By 1991 budget cuts were reducing personnel significantly , and plans called for transforming many OTK units into civil defense formations that would support production and service in the civilian economy . The OTK units remaining armed and attached to districts as regional defense forces would count as part of the ground forces ' planned mid - 1990s allotment of about 150 , 000 troops . They were to function as cadre units reinforcing operational ground forces within their territorial boundaries . Reduction of OTK units continued , and the last units of the OTK were converted to mechanized infantry units of the Polish Army by 1 July 2008 . The military Border Defense Force ( ) was disbanded in 1991 , and replaced by the " Straż Graniczna " , whose commander reports to the Prime Minister . The change resulted in personnel reductions from 21 , 000 in 1991 to 13 , 500 .