The pentagon and jornos embedded there were always playing the access journalism game all along. Nothing new is happening, this was just the secdef being so thick he asked them to put the punches they'll pull in writing. It should be seen as a union walk-out.
I don't doubt they're doing access journalism, but being part of the press pool wasn't really an element of that it the past. When's the last time a journalist got kicked out of the Pentagon? The access journalism is usually about what happens behind the scenes (e.g. embarrass someone in the Pentagon and you won't be getting off the record statements).
