Getting to Know Annie Dufficy

Annie was first inspired to join the Defence Force as a teenager in the Army Cadets.  

“I just found the disciplined life attractive, I guess you could say,” she recalls.

Seeing the opportunities associated with a career in the Army also drew Annie to enlist.

“There were some Army people who came to cadets and they told us about all these places they'd been, and some had just come back from East Timor in '99.

“That really attracted me as well and made me want to go and do some overseas operations.”

A long military history runs through Annie’s family. Her grandfather served with the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion and her father was in the 2nd/4th Battalion RAR. Several of Annie’s younger brothers are also in the Army.

Starting her career with basic training at Kapooka, Annie remembers enjoying the demands of army life.

“I went through Kapooka when I was 18 years old,” she says.

“It was challenging, but I loved it because I loved fitness.

“We had to do so much stuff in so little time and we had to have all our stuff together and be very, very organised.”

Annie has had numerous postings to units in Townsville and Brisbane, but one of her favourite postings was the 51st Battalion Far North Regiment in Cairns.

“When I was at 51 FNQR, I looked after basic administration for the soldiers and any travel they had to do if they were coming down to do any courses.

“51 FNQR is a really good unit because it has a diverse range of people that work with it,” she remembers.

“Up north they have the Indigenous soldiers doing Regional Force Surveillance and then you have the non-Indigenous soldiers coming in and working with them to do some training.

“I found it really good, because I got to actually do some training as well, and it started my passion to teach and mentor soldiers.”

Annie has also spent time in the Middle East and on Christmas Island during her career.

“I deployed to the Middle East to do an administration role, and also look after record keeping,” she says.

“And on Christmas Island, it was border operations – working with the Navy and doing border operations across the top end of Australia.”

Annie believes that events like the Indigenous Veterans’ Ceremony are important because they recognise the contribution of Indigenous veterans.

“They highlight some of the unsung heroes,” she says.  

“They [Indigenous veterans] never got to recognise their indigenous heritage when they enlisted.

“And so, some of their stories were just never told.”

As a role model and mentor for young Indigenous service members, Annie enjoys seeing the success of the next generation.

“I think the biggest satisfaction I get when I see myself as a mentor and a role model is when I see those people that I've helped do something really, really good with their life and their military career.

“I get inspired by the people that I do help because they're the ones that go and do the amazing things. I'm just there to lend a hand. So, I feel inspired.”

You can learn more about the Indigenous Veterans’ Ceremony here.