Well, as a former British Forces Officer, the whole issue is intensely irksome - it appeared in both Trek and BSG, and I suspect it is something that RDM carried over from the former to the latter. It's just another awful politically correct sop, typical of the 80s and 90s styling of Trek TNG, which was one of that show's greatest weaknesses. Everything in TNG was politically correct, even down to the bland sets and androgynous uniforms. At least the much maligned Voyager managed to dispense with a lot of the PC clap-trap, and I seem to recall that the female officers were referred to as "maam" on Janeway's insistence (I still think she was weak for not airlocking that weak and insubordinate Chakotay, who was a PC sop in himself, then again, Adama should have airlocked Helo too after his sabotage).
Off topic, I agree that Season 3 was a bit weak, but its episode 4 was a big highlight of the entire show. I also agree that the Miniseries was amongst the best scripting and acting of the run.