Why now? And they lose readership if they don't reflect the military. Occam's razor.
Simplest explanation. I suspect the military doesn't like losing a "war" because of political mismanagement. And since the military doesn't have a voice in the matter, they have to rely upon surrogates.
Those magazines depends upon subscriptions and advertising to get by. They are not going to go that far out on a limb on such an important matter if they don't reflect the majority of their readership.
As far as the overhaul, I would bet it's a concern, and rightly so. Rumsfeld's military, after 6 years of virtually unlimited budgets, ain't performing well, not because of the military or the people in it.
It's because of the civilian leadership.
Arf