As someone who works for the Defense Department I found this article totally unsurprising. This sort of story is common. The question people should be asking is why does it take a 3-star general's blessing in order to get a team functioning computers that are usable for something besides Email and Microsoft Office.
Another major obstacle that isn't touched on in this article is buying things. Typical timeline for purchasing anything through the normal mechanisms is minimum 4 months and 6-9 months isn't uncommon many years. Doesn't really matter how much it costs. So any group that wants to get things done on a reasonable timeline ends up putting a substantial portion of their budget on a contract who's sole purpose is to be a purchasing vehicle that circumvents the usual buying process.