Figure I'd dig this old thread up for one last update. Kinda embarrassing to finally get around to completing the JMO section of JPME after taking the 2 week support course in Dec 14! After completing the 2 weeks, you are credited for completing Blocks 4 & 5 (OPORD); those who chose were given CDs to finish Block 1-3 at their own pace. I would look at the material of the CD and just couldn't motivate myself to start. Finally decided on Web-enabled to get me through.
Cohort start November 2016 and ends the 1st week of Aug 17, with break for Xmas/New Years (and really not much for Thanksgiving week).
The material for Web and CD is the same except there is a 15% contribution grade for Web. Web also provides more retirement points than CD. Block 1 really starts with a kick because the assignment requires a thesis, bibliography and footnotes which on the surface can seem like a pain if you don't like writing papers. This was part of the reason I could never get into the CD. But the Web, particularly the discussion questions, helped steer my focus. Once Block 1 is done, you can kinda cruise through Block 2 & 3, as that is just writing without the formality (although I was challenged in trying to figure out what assets to send from other services to a conflict).
At the end of Block 3, I was done (30 April), so the 2 week course saved me from 3 more months of the cohort. Also, looking ahead to Web Block 4 seemed more involved than I recall for my 2 week course, so I'm glad I did it in Newport (plus it was a fun trip).
We started with 20 students and 4 must have dropped. They probably got caught up in how involved the 1st assignment seems. I kept it simple by focusing on the Falkland conflict and using just 2 resources for everything I wrote about. You can easily do just enough reading to get by or go all out and absorb as much as you can; as long as you turn in a product, you should gain a passing grade.
I highly recommend the 2 week Reserve Officer Operational Support courses. I did both Strategy & War and JMO 2 week sessions and plan on doing it again for TSDM!