That classic example is poor. The idea is that congress is forcing the military to buy things that the military doesn't want. We need to question that.

The military follows orders. The president is commander in chief. If the president doesn't want to buy something, then the military doesn't want to buy something.

Given that the date was 2014, saying "the military doesn't want" was exactly equivalent to saying "Obama doesn't want".

Fully retired members of the military, not seeking to gain something like a DoD or cabinet-level position, might be able to speak more freely to congress.