I have nothing against instructors using the name of a military unit to sell either their own hand-to-hand combat system or one that is used effectively by that unit. Not at all. For the most part, I see this as a marketing thing and each instructor/author has to make decisions on that front.
If you want to connect a USB device to an HDMI device then you must use a converter box. This is a set of electronics that change the protocols and signals. The only adaptor which works is the DVI-HDMI ones.
The HDMI protocol has advanced through several revisions, and USB 2.0 gave way to USB 3.0. Still though, USB-to-HDMI remains a great way to bridge the gap between your computer and your home theater, but there have been some new developments and new technologies that make USB-to-HDMI even easier and more powerful.