officers are called 'sir'

[Xhiandra]

Ian: I owe my freedom (and indeed my continued existence) to philosophers such as Diderot and Spinoza, not to some military-minded zealots.
And I suspect you do, too.

You mention German invasion of my country? They did not invade because they were German, they invaded because they were bellicists.
their weapons weren't a philosopher's (pens), but a soldier's (guns), their chants not "cogito ergo sum", but "gott mitt uns".
The same chant is now rising from across the Atlantic and it's no less scary in english than in german.

So, no, I will not idealise military might.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Folks, seriously, bluedana has already asked for everyone to stay on topic. Please take your non-Enterprise, non-use of "sir" discussion to an appropriate forum, which is not here. Okay? Thanks.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Off topic post removed, my bad.

 

[Jhubelle]

Female officers in the US military are addressed as ma'am, not sir. I was actually in the military, and I can tell you... calling a female officer "sir" is a bad idea. It gets you in trouble.

Starfleet was based on the US Navy, so it is perfectly appropriate for female Starfleet officers to be addressed as ma'am.

I won't go into the "but Starfleet isn't military" debate because that's pointless.