Members of the Naval ROTC Cyclone Battalion conducted a moment of silence to recognize the fallen members of the armed forces and to gain awareness about suicide prevention.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 10, NROTC members gathered in the Gold Star Hall of the Memorial Union to recognize a moment of silence as well as a candle lighting ceremony in the evening just outside of the armory.

Alexander Furman, junior in journalism and mass communications and member of the NROTC, described this event as “a part of a navywide suicide stand-down.”

The event began at 3:30 p.m. when Bill Honeyman, senior in agricultural engineering and member of NROTC, gave a short speech in the hall “to remember those in the service who have taken their own lives and those it affects.”

The speech was followed by a brief moment of silence in remembrance of those who have fallen victim to suicide.

“It’s in a public place to hopefully to draw people’s attention to the fact that it is a problem and especially in the military,” Honeyman said.

The number of suicides among active duty members has doubled since 2001, Honeyman said.

“What we’re trying to do is say: ‘Hey, we’re thinking about this,'” he said. “We’re actively trying to show … that we care about suicide prevention.”

The moment of silence Tuesday afternoon was followed by another ceremony led by a small group of students later in the evening. At 8 p.m., a candle was lit in a window in the armory by NROTC member Crystal Felch, freshman in materials engineering.

This candle-lighting ceremony was part of a worldwide commemoration to remember suicide victims.

This is the first year the NROTC has conducted this specific ceremony, and the members hope it will be used to help students and the community realize the importance of suicide prevention and recognize those who have taken their own lives Lieutenant Joshua Riley stated.

Riley said that the Navy informed the NROTC that September was suicide prevention month. The students then came up with their own ideas to raise awareness to this event.

While conducting research on their ideas, they realized Sept. 10 was the worldwide Suicide Prevention Day. They then became aware of the annual candle lighting ceremony that takes place across the World to show the support for suicide prevention, as well as to remember a loved one or a suicide survivor.

Although ROTC students might not have the operational stress that active duty members do, Riley said it’s very important to bring awareness to these students, because the ROTC program occupies quite a bit of their time.

“ROTC demands a lot of their time and academics is huge, and a lot of them are involved in extra-curricular activities as well,” Riley said. “So, it’s important for us to stress how much of an impact that can have on your life and how you feel.”

The event was conducted not only to provide awareness to suicides within the military, but awareness to suicides that occur across the World.

“It doesn’t just impact the Navy, but it impacts everybody,” Furman said. “It impacts the family, and the civilians and the department of defense.”

The Navy is also putting forth other efforts to prevent suicides among the armed forces including general military training.

“We talk about operational stress control and ways to kind of cope and deal with everything that’s going on,” Riley said.

Honeyman was pleased with the outcome of the events Tuesday and believes the NROTC will continue a similar event next year, possibly adding more to the ceremony.

Riley stated that the NROTC hopes its efforts can bring attention to such a growing and crucial problem not only within the armed forces but also within the World.