It wasn't really primarily about the generals. It was mostly about the captains (who are YOUNG) and soliders. It was the movies, not the books, that made LOTR a powerful tool for DoD. They didn't just know about it. It was an organizing piece of ideology and shared identity. Any analogy or metaphor that made reference was more likely to be funded.

> Naming a government contractor Palantir is a joke on whoever did it of course, since the palantirs destroyed everyone who tried to use them.

Sometimes trolls are all in on the same joke.