Anyone currently active duty is required to agree with all the policies of this administration on the pains of severe ramifications. Sorry, but you cannot trust the testimony of service members under the thumb of this regime, which hates the military with a passion and is trying to undermine it at every turn.
Same with the Marine outfit that was "just fine" with the openly "gay" unit member. It's all bullshit.
Or, the op-ed was a total fabrication. Which wouldn't surprise me with this administration, either.
Or, as rlmorel suggested, it was a career-advancing (or non-career limiting) option.
Who knows. But, as I said, it wouldn't surprise me for the military to find someone - say, some top-notch female athlete wanting to make a name for herself - that could sneak into the bottom 10% of the class. Especially with the military being used for a social experiment - there's got to be plenty of pressure to find women who are "Just as Good as Men". Doesn't matter if you're 1st or last, you still get Ranger Tabs for passing.
But finding the exception to the general rule, doesn't make it a standard, or even a passable idea. Which is what the mass media is touting this situation as.