Tell Your Story
Contribute to an Illustrated History of RASIGS
A significant amount of work is going into the planning of Certa Cito 100, however, the corps need your contributions and those of your units, associations and communities to make the most of cententary celebrations and commemorative opportunities.
To mark the centenary, The Royal Australian Corps of Signals is seeking to produce a coffee table style book in the form of an illustrated history which covers the Corps from its inception to the present day.
The intent of the book is to educate, inform and inspire. It aims to highlight our people past and present, capture personalities and characteristics of our units, roles and functions and the work of Australian Signallers in peace and war.
The book will tell “Your Story, Our Story – The RA Sigs Story”.
Your contribution could be anything from a single photograph with a couple of hundred words describing the “who, what, when, where, why” to a more detailed submission covering topics such as:
- Brief overview of the operation, exercise or activity
- Brief overview of the organisation supported
- Key locations
- Role / tasks / functions of the RA Sigs element
- Overview of equipment used
- Challenges of the operational environment
- Challenges of the physical environment – weather, terrain
- Individual reflections on operations, exercises, equipment, evolution of trades etc.
Whilst the primary audience may have a Signals background, submissions should be written in a style that can be easily understood by a non-technical audience. Any images (photographs or graphics) linked to your story should not be embedded within any documents, but should be provided separately. An annotation of where specific photographs would be placed should be made within the document. Photographs should be in JPG or TIF format and have a resolution of 300dpi or higher. Photographs should be clearly described and include details (where known) of the photographer. Images should not be taken from the internet.
Submissions are to be UNCLASSIFIED.
Submissions should be emailed to:
Particular areas of interest where written and / or photographic submissions are sought include (but not limited to):
- Evolution of Signals (1854 – 1924)
- World War One (1914 – 1918)
- The Formative Years (1925 – 1938)
- World War Two (1939 – 1945)
- Korea (1950 – 1953)
- South East Asia – Malayan Emergency (1950 – 1971) 28 Commonwealth Brigade Group Signal Squadron, 28 (Commonwealth) Signal Squadron, 208 Signal Squadron (Commonwealth)
- Indonesian Confrontation (1963 – 1966) Borneo (OP CLARET) / Malaysia
- Signallers in Singapore (9 ANZUK Signal Regiment, 28 (ANZUK) Brigade HQ and Signal Squadron, 121 Signal Squadron)
- Signallers in Vietnam
- Signallers at “Peace” – (1973 – 2000)
- Signallers in Iraq – (2003 – 2009) (OP BASTILLE, FALCONER, CATALYST, RIVERBANK, KRUGER)
- Signallers in Afghanistan – (2001 – 2002 / 2005 – 2014) (OP SLIPPER, HIGHROAD)
- Signallers in Iraq – (2014 – 2020) (OP OKRA)
- Signallers on Peacekeeping Operations – Southern Rhodesia, Namibia (UNTAG), Western Sahara (CEDILLA). Sinai / Egypt / Israel (MAZURKA), Somalia (1992-95), Cambodia, Rwanda (TAMAR (1993-96)), Bougainville (BEL ISI), Iraq (HABITAT, BLAZER, POLLARD), Solomon Islands (TREK, ANODE), South Pacific (QUICKSTEP), East Timor
- Signallers on Humanitarian Operations / Defence Co-operation – Aceh (SUMATRA ASSIST), Vanuatu (PACIFIC ASSIST), Tonga (TONGA ASSIST), Fiji (FIJI ASSIST), Pakistan (PAKISTAN ASSIST), Installations / Communications Works – PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands
- Strategic Communications – support to operations / day to day business – DNOC, 4 Sig Regt / 136 Sig Sqn, 403 Sig Regt / AHQ Sig Regt / 6 Sig Regt / 138 Sig Sqn, 402 Sig Regt / 5 Sig Regt / 134 Sig Sqn, 135 Sig Sqn, STRAD, DISCON, COMCEN, HF Sites, Satellite, Interface
- Training – Bonegilla, Ivanhoe (AWAS), Puckapunyal, Mount Martha, Balcombe, Simpson Barracks – Evolution of training, Impact of Technology, Remote Learning / Virtual Reality, 34 CSR
- Trades – Evolution from 43 to 5; include Drivers, Storemen, Clerks, Gen Jocks etc.
- Equipment – Evolution Analogue to Digital (e.g. RAVEN, PARAKEET, HARRIS) including EW Equipment
- Exercises – Kangaroo / Diamond Dollar / Hamel / Talisman Sabre etc., Mapping Services, DCP South West Pacific,
- Reorganisations – Pentropic Division (1959 – 1965) / Army 21 / Disbanding, Raising, Re-naming Regiments (1, 3, 7 CSR), School, Squadrons
- Reserve Regiments / Squadrons – History, Lineage and Evolution, Involvement of units / individuals on operations – domestic and overseas
- Special Operations – World War II – Independent Cdo Coy, M & Z Special Unit, Inter-Allied Services Department (ISD), Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) / Special Operations – Australia (SOA), post-World War II; Post 1945 Operations / Activities – incorporated within main Chapter (e.g.: “Signallers in Vietnam” includes 152 Sig Sqn)
- Working with Allies – Signallers on Operations / Exchanges – 1 (UK) Sig Regt, 7 (UK) Sig Regt / 22 (UK) Sig Regt, 14 (UK) Sig Regt, 11 (US) Sig Bde, 1st Rad Bn (USMC)
- Domestic Operations – Counter Terrorism (early developments and challenges), Olympic Games (1956, 2000 OP GOLD – DNOC, 145 & 152 Sig Sqn), Cyclone Tracy (1974) 125 Sig Sqn, 103 Sig Sqn, 7 Sig Regt, 6 Sig Regt, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) (Melbourne (1981), Sydney (1978 – Hilton Bombing), Brisbane (2001/02), Perth (2011)), Commonwealth Games (Brisbane, Melbourne (2006 OP ACOLYTE)), Flood, Fire (e.g. OP VIC FIRE ASSIST), Cyclone, AACAP, COVID-19
- Domestic Activities – Adventure Training, Caduceus Cup / Watson’s Trophy, Sporting Events / RA Sigs Rugby, Charity Events e.g.: Guide Dog Run
- Looking forward – AI, cyber and other new capabilities
Written contributions should be provided in plain Times New Roman size 12 font.
Images linked to your story should not be embedded within any documents, but should be provided separately.
An annotation of where specific photographs would be placed should be made within the document. Photographs should be in JPG or TIF format and have a resolution of 300dpi or higher. Photographs should be clearly described and include details of the photographer. Images should not be taken from an on-line platform. We cannot use low-resolution images.
Naming conventions for written contributions and accompanying photographs:
- Written Contributions – SURNAME_OPERATION or ACTIVITY.doc (e.g. JONES_FALCONER.doc; TAPE_COMMCEN.doc)
- Photographs – SURNAME_OPERATION or ACTIVITY_01.jpg (e.g. JONES_FALCONER_01.jpg, JONES_FALCONER_02.jpg etc.; TAPE_COMMCEN_01.jpg)
Captions for the images should be included within the email which contains the image files, making sure to clearly identify the image title to which each caption relates.
Captions must answer the “Who, What, When, Where” for each photo.
Editing
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals reserves the right to edit and adapt content as necessary for accuracy, comprehensiveness and audience experience. This may include adding or editing images, the title, headline and blurb to promote the content.
Copyright and Other Third-Party Rights
Each contributor warrants that they are the author/creator of the material submitted. They are the owner of or otherwise entitled to exercise the copyright in the material submitted.
Each contributor warrants that the Royal Australian Corps of Signals publication of the material submitted will not infringe any third-party rights.
Each contributor agrees that the Royal Australian Corps of Signals may authorise third parties to publish, reproduce, modify and edit the material for publication within Corps sponsored publications.
Each contributor agrees that the Royal Australian Corps of Signals may authorise third parties to archive and store your material for whatever period of time the Corps determines.
If you have a tale to tell and some photos and are agreeable for them to be published send them to certa.cito2025@defence.gov.au.
Authors / creators of submissions used in the book will be acknowledged accordingly.