HALIFAX - The federal government is restoring the once familiar names of the air and maritime divisions of the Canadian Forces.

Federal Defence Minister Peter MacKay says they will again officially be known as the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Land Force Command will be called simply the Canadian Army.

The older names disappeared in 1968, when the military's three main branches were unified under the banner of the Canadian Forces.

MacKay says the change is intended to help those in uniform reconnect with their past.

He says the government felt compelled to right a historic wrong.

"Our Conservative government believes that an important element of the Canadian military heritage was lost when these three former services were required to relinquish their historic titles," MacKay told a news conference Tuesday in Halifax.

"Restoring these historic identities is a way of reconnecting today's men and women in uniform with the proud history and traditions that they carry with them as members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Sometimes I think it's important to correct historic mistakes and correct them when possible."

A couple of veterans' groups voiced their support for the name change.

"It is quite an emotional issue for our members," Patricia Varga, the dominion president of the Royal Canadian Legion, said in a statement.

"From a personal perspective, I have served in the Royal Canadian Navy as did my father, so this issue is very close to my heart.

"Our only concern is that costs associated with this move will not detract from operational and quality of life budgets, which I have been assured will not be the case."

The National Council of Veteran Associations, which said it has been pursuing the name change for years, also expressed its approval.

"Traditional veterans fought under these designations during World War I, World War II, Korea and earlier peacekeeping missions, and this restoration of their military heritage means a great deal to our membership," Brian Forbes, the council's secretary general, said in a news release.