DFSS Legacy Day: Fundraising and Building All-Round Soldier Skills
On 3 September 2025, the Defence Force School of Signals (DFSS) held a Non-Training Day for trainees to emphasise the importance of organisations, like Legacy, that support veterans and their families in times of need. On the day, DFSS organised multiple fundraising activities throughout the city to raise money for the charity to show our support for such a vital organisation.
Legacy Fundraising – Melbourne CBD
Legacy Day is an important event as it exposes trainees to the importance of supporting those who support them. Legacy’s mission is to support the families of veterans who gave their lives or their health for our country. Their work is invaluable in providing essential social, economic and developmental support that these families depend on every day. Every year, staff and trainees from Defence Force School of Signals support Legacy Melbourne in their fundraising in Melbourne CBD for Legacy Week. This year, the aim was to make it a bigger and better fundraiser than last year. Over one hundred DFSS members participated in this activity, roaming the city in teams of 5 to see who could collect the most donations. Their efforts achieved an astounding result, with the overall amount for the day coming in at over $28,000.
This activity gave an opportunity for those involved to engage with the community and foster open communication around an important cause. Such engagement represents DFSS and the broader ADF in a positive light. The individual teams consisted of a mix of all three services, allowing an opportunity to foster inter-service teamwork and relationships to achieve a simple but significant task – Important skills to develop as members of the Joint Force.
Military Skills Activities
For those not participating in fundraising activities, the school hosted its annual Legacy Day Military Skills Activity at Simpson Barracks, bringing together 230 ab initio trainees for a day designed to reinforce the core competencies and skills that underpin service across the Australian Defence Force.
The event was structured around a three-station bullring format, with trainees rotating through a navigation and communications challenge, medical refresher training, and Battle PT. The intent was to reinforce the importance of the basic soldier skills that are critical to enabling the readiness of the Joint Force.
Navigation and Communication Challenge
At the navigation and communications stand, signallers refreshed their map-to-ground interpretation skills while working through practical challenges that demanded accuracy, initiative, and teamwork. Trainees also had the opportunity to practice their RATEL skills on a variety of reports and returns, alongside Battlespace Communication Specialists from the Deployable Signals Troop and Network Troop, ensuring that All-Corps communications skills remain sharp and relevant for all members operating throughout the cyber domain.
Medical Refresher Training
The medical stand reinforced the principle that every member of the ADF is also a first aider. Led by experienced instructors from the DFSS Medical Section, the training revisited essential trauma management and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) drills. Trainees engaged in scenario-based refreshers that emphasised confidence, speed, and calm under pressure – qualities just as important in barracks training as they are on operations, preparing our sailors, soldiers, and aviators for a variety of medical emergencies.
Legacy Fundraiser – The Importance of the Day
The day concluded with a DFSS Trust Fund barbecue, which not only rewarded the trainees for their efforts but also raised $423.80 for Legacy Australia. The fundraising component underscored the enduring connection between today’s soldiers and the families of those who served before them.
Events like Legacy Day are more than just a pause from classroom instruction. They reaffirm that communicators are, first and foremost sailors, soldiers, and aviators — expected to master their core trades whilst retaining the all-round military skills that bind the services together. By integrating navigation, communications, medical readiness, and fitness into a single day, DFSS continues to prepare its trainees not just as communicators, but also as capable, adaptable members of the Joint Force.