I find the DRA community very friendly and encouraging, and I like being surrounded by generous and hardworking people who genuinely want to help. I really value the friendships I have made through DRA; I have met so many excellent people that I really respect, am inspired by, and learn a lot from.
I first found out about DRA at a volunteer expo showcasing charities and organisations looking for volunteers in Canberra; I had been looking for something to do with my time and I wanted to give back to the community. At the time I was also very inspired by my housemate who was deploying often with the Australian Army on humanitarian and disaster relief missions.
I joined DRA in 2022, since then I’ve been on 4 deployments, two assisting with flood recovery, one bushfire recovery and one storm recovery (Op Riordan in Lismore 2022, Op Salway in Cobargo 2023, Op Trew in Redlands Bay 2025, Op Locke in Taree 2025).
I was a Training Associate in 2023, where I helped the Training Coordinator organise training courses (chainsaw, first aid, mental health first aid) for members in the ACT. I’ve been a Damage Assessment (DA) team lead, where the DA team goes out to a property affected by the disaster and assesses whether the work is in scope for DRA and if so, what resources would be needed for a job. But ultimately, I think I like being on the tools and working as part of a strike team the best. I find it very satisfying to spend days working hard alongside friends.
I’ve learnt a lot on deployments; I’ve been fortunate to have experienced a variety of tasks from shovelling mud to helping construct fences, tasks that I ordinarily wouldn’t encounter in my day-to-day life. I’ve learnt how to use a chainsaw through a training course offered by DRA, and I’ve been able to practice my chainsawing skills while on deployments.
On deployments we are away for a week, we travel to the Forward Operating Base (FOB) on Wednesday, and travel home on Thursday in the following week. We are organised into our strike teams and listen to briefings on the first morning and then spend the week going to properties and completing jobs. There is a set schedule. We start early and as a strike team and we typically go to two jobs per day – one in the morning and one after lunch. We return to the FOB by 4pm, we clean and put away our equipment, there are debriefs and the ode, and we have time to ourselves, or to chat after dinner. Meals and snacks are provided, and I have always been looked after as someone with dietary requirements. We sleep in sleeping bags on stretchers in a shared space.
I really like being able to see the difference that our work has made to people in the community when I work as part of a strike team. Clients are very appreciative, and it is satisfying to see the piles of debris we have moved to the kerb, or to see the spaces we have cleared of mud or fallen trees. Sometimes the jobs are too big for what we can do in the time we have allocated to us, but I am glad that we were still able to help.
Jade.