Whereas its original purpose was to give the Baath Party an active role in every town and village, the Popular Army in 1981 began its most ambitious task to date, the support of the regular armed forces.

The official functions of the Popular Army were to act as an auxiliary force to support the regular armed forces in times of war and to safeguard revolutionary achievements, to promote mass consciousness, to consolidate national unity, and to bolster the relationship between the people and the army in times of peace.

Beginning in 1974, Taha Yassin Ramadan,[3] a close associate of President Saddam Hussein, commanded the Popular Army, which was responsible for internal security.

Graduates had a gendarmerie role where they were responsible for guarding government buildings and installations, and were concentrated around policing sensitive centers in major towns.

They were also sent out of the country as an expeditionary force to Lebanon to support and fight alongside Palestinian guerrillas during the Lebanese Civil War.