canned and screened town hall meetings are one thing (and not a good thing) but in the case of the military, it's not uncommon to over-organize for anything.
to the civilian population, this can all seem very odd and suspicious, and maybe in this case it is. but most likely not. especially in the light of counter-articles like the NYT one that explain the process and event; so no one is being kept in the dark about it all (except maybe the prez.)