The establishment of the unit had the objective of supporting the quick intervention of loyal ground forces, in the event of a coup attempt.

23 Squadron participated in the First and Second Iraqi-Kurdish Wars, using its An-12s in transport roles and also as makeshift bombers, disgorging bombs from their rear loading ramps.

23 Squadron was mostly involved in the transportation of personnel and spares for Iraqi units deployed in Syria and Egypt.

[12] On 1 April one of the squadron's crews transported 51 Iraqi soldiers back to Iraq from an Emirati training site.

This sortie established an administrative milestone of sorts because, in addition to flying the mission on their own, the crew was able to complete all the clearance forms, customs declarations, transit route applications, and other paperwork needed to travel through international airspace and land in a foreign country.

This effort, mounted at the request of the Ministry of Electricity, was needed to protect Iraqi government power generation stations and distribution networks.

The squadron had to palletize and move 2,700 assault rifles and a million rounds of ammunition from Baghdad to Basrah.

Operation Iraqi Power would be the first in a series of familiarization movements designed to introduce the squadron and the base to one another over the next six months.