Territorial Defense (Yugoslavia)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Territorial Defence
Територијална Oдбрана / Teritorijalna odbrana
Logo of the Territorial Defence Forces
Founded	1969
Disbanded	1992
Country	Yugoslavia
Type	Militia
Size	860,000 personnel (c. 3,000,000 reserve)
Part of	Yugoslav People's Army
Insignia
Flag

The Territorial Defense (Serbo-Croatian: Територијална Oдбрана, Teritorijalna odbrana; TO for short)^[a] was a component of the armed forces of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that was the primary means of organized armed resistance against an enemy under the Constitution of Yugoslavia. The forces acted as a Home or National Guard which roughly corresponded to a military reserve force or an official governmental paramilitary. Similar to the US National Guard, each of the Yugoslav constituent republics had its own Territorial Defense military formations, to remain separate from the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), which also maintained its own reserve forces and could take command of Territorial Defense in case of war. This would be done under the command of the Presidency of Yugoslavia as Supreme Commander of Armed Forces through the Minister of Defense, who was the highest military rank that could command both Yugoslav People's Army and Territorial Defense simultaneously under the constitution. While the President of Yugoslavia was in function he was under constitution supreme commander of armed forces, including the JNA and TO, and he could also pass duties as supreme commander to minister of defense.