Powell For Defense Budget Cuts

I think it's interesting how we can get top-level military leaders under Republican presidents (Gates and now Powell) to push for cuts in the defense budget. I don't have an especially good handle on how they manage to get the right answer here while politicians of both parties are generally getting this wrong. Maybe it's that their fates don't depend on support from the military/industrial complex, and they have a keen sense of where the wasteful defense spending is?