I had the same response as Justan, I asked if I could switch to the free broadband deal for the Armed Forces, the chap at customer services said that the Essentials package was 6.99 and that it included free broadband!
So not really a special deal for the Armed Forces and a bit of faked spin for the company me thinks.
As for TalkTalks reputation, I joined them when they first offered the free broadband for everyone years back and yes there were some teething problems, but in the last few years they have been OK, good with free customer services calls (unlike Sky TV) and some really good deals for free calls especially the European free calls, (I travel a lot and the missus can call my hotels free) definately get my moneys worth from them.
I will caviat the above with the fact that I have never been with anyone else for broadband so can't compare.
I am moving house soon and will stay with them as they are significantly cheaper than anyone else I can find for calls and broadband packages.