Canadian Navy, Air Force 'Royal' Again With Official Name Change

A royal name change for Canada's navy and air force will be announced Tuesday, and the army will also be renamed, in a move designed to tap Canada's military heritage.

The Maritime Command and Air Command will again be known as the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, while the Land Force Command will be renamed the Canadian Army.

The name changes will be officially announced Tuesday by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, and events marking the transition are scheduled to take place simultaneously across the country.

According to a Canadian Forces document obtained by CBC News on Monday, the move restores the historic names of the three branches of the Forces, and the initiative is being billed as "an important and recognizable part of Canada's military heritage."

"These were the services that fought and emerged victorious from the Second World War and Korea and contributed to the defence of Europe and North America from the early days of the Cold War. These were also the services that paved the way in terms of international peacekeeping missions," says the note, which appears to have been sent to Canadian Forces members.

The branches were renamed in 1968 when they were unified under one central command named the Canadian Armed Forces. That unified command is expected to remain in place when the old names are restored.

The naming of the units has raised some debate in recent years. A group of veterans has been pushing the federal government to go back to the pre-1968 designations for the navy and air force and launched a petition calling on it to "restore the royal honour."

But not everyone supports the renaming. The NDP's defence critic Jack Harris says the move is "unnecessary" and "divisive." He told CBC News in an interview Monday that Canadians have pride in their military institutions because they are Canadian, not because of their attachment to the monarchy.

"gonavy47" said
It's about time they corrected the "Mistake of '68"

"DanSC" said
So why not add Royal to the Army as well?

Canada’s navy and air force will get a royal name change Tuesday, The Huffington Post Canada has learned.

The Conservative government plans to announce that Maritime Command and Air Command, the official names of the two Canadian Forces' units, will be returned to Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, monikers last used in 1968. Simultaneous announcements on the name change are planned for Tuesday in Halifax, Kingston, Valcartier, Que., Cold Lake, Alta., and Esquimalt, B.C.

The Canadian army, which is officially called Land
Force Command, will also be renamed simply Canadian Army.

The change is mostly symbolic and won’t affect how the Canadian Forces are run.

“The reason is to restore the historic identities of the Canadian armed forces that were lost in (19)68,” an official said.

In 1968, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army ceased to exist when the were unified through the Canadian Forces Reorganization Act — a move designed to improve the military’s effectiveness.

Tuesday’s name change won’t affect the unification of the forces and it is expected to be “low-cost.”

"DanSC" said
Now if something could be done about the very unfortunately-designed Royal Air Force engisn.

"DanSC" said
The old one with the Union Jack was neat, this just looks painfully off-balance.