There is a difference between being expected to comply with a contentious decision and being expected to follow an order that you know is unlawful. Officers have always been permitted to resign their commission provided there is no required return of service, it's just the timescale that varies. If the Service wants shot of you in days, PVR or otherwise, it can do it.
"What is going on?" can probably be laid at the door of people behaving as they think their seniors are expecting them to behave, which is where culture comes into play for better or for worse.