The National Guard Defence Battalions or TEA (Greek: Τάγματα Εθνοφυλακής Αμύνης, ΤΕΑ) were a paramilitary internal security organization active in Greece (especially Northern Greece) between 1948 and 1982, under the control of the Defence Ministry. The TEA were formed in September 1948, in the midst of the Greek Civil War, by decision of the Hellenic Army General Staff. They were staffed by men of proven "anticommunist" credentials; this, however, meant that many former Nazi collaborators, fascists, and even criminals and thugs were admitted to the organization.