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Case Notes provide more detailed information regarding the Defense articles and/or services being provided to the customer. When LOAs are prepared before details are known, these notes should include general information and an estimate of when more specific information will be provided to the customer (such as after a definitization conference). These notes can be shared with the customer in advance, if necessary, and without prior DSCA approval, to ensure any additional customer-unique requirements are identified.
Adhering to individual note responsibilities listed in the SAMM Appendix 6 will help avoid processing delays.
Note Order:To ensure consistency, LOA notes should be included in the following order:
# Area Responsibility 1
Line Notes
IA
2
Case/IA Unique Notes (e.g., description of the system)
IA
3
Mandatory DSCA Standard Notes (As listed in SAMM Appendix 6)
IA / CWD
4
Standard Notes regarding waivers
CWD
5
Standard Notes required on all cases
CWD
Note Application and Maintenance: When preparing Amendments or Modifications to the LOA, application and maintenance of notes is essential for accuracy. This task is based on responsibility assignment, as specified in SAMM Appendix 6 for DSCA Standard Notes, and local guidance as specified by IA Policy offices for all IA-Unique Notes. The guidance provided below is intended to provide a standardized approach to IA and DSCA note maintenance guidelines.
Expired Notes: As a general rule, new notes being added for the first time (not on the Implemented Case) must include the most current version (Note ID and/or Version number) of a note before a case advances. The most current note versions are updated based on current regulations, rules, and procedures that now make older versions outdated/obsolete. At the time a case is originally written, the implemented note version remains effective throughout the life of a case unless otherwise specified in SAMM Appendix 6 or IA Policy guidance for IA notes.
The majority of notes (Case and/or Standard) are effective upon implementation of a document and remain active until the case is closed/canceled. These notes are rarely updated even after expiration and can be found on the Implemented Version of a case or individual document versions. The expiration date of the note simply means that new cases cannot add that version of the note anymore and must use the newest version available.
For DSCA Standard Notes that CWD has primary responsibility, the SAMM note usage must be followed, with additional guidance provided by DSCA (Strategy, Plans, and Policy Directorate (SPP) Strategic Planning and Integration Division (SPI)) and/or DSCA (Directorate of Business Operations (DBO) Financial Policy & Analysis Division (FPA)), as applicable.
For DSCA Standard Notes that the IA has primary responsibility, the SAMM note usage must be followed. If the note usage is unclear, work with your Local/IA Policy Office to obtain clarification.
Expired DSCA Standard Notes, with very few exceptions, remain unchanged and must not be updated to the most current version solely based on the DSAMS warning that a note version is expired.
Expired Case/IA Notes, for which the IA has primary responsibility, should remain UNAFFECTED and NOT updated to the newest version simply because the note is expired. See below for Criteria to DELETE, REVISE, and/or RESTATE Notes.
Criteria to DELETE: When a line is deleted, the corresponding Line Note and any other associated notes need to be deleted (for deletion of a subline, the existing Line Note should be revised to delete the subline information from the text).
For associated notes that only reference the specific line references in the text, the associated note(s) must be DELETED.
For associated DSCA Standard or Case/IA Unique Notes that only reference a line being deleted in the text, the note must be DELETED.
Notes should be deleted when it is discovered the note should have been deleted with a previous version of the document or when it should not have been included on the case at all.
Criteria to REVISE: Notes are revised to add additional information to update/clarify information in the note. If any notes on the Case Note List are expired, the Note Usage guidance should be reviewed to determine the appropriate action required (i.e., update to the most current version, etc.). Generally, the vast majority of "expired" notes can remain unchanged as indicated above.
For associated DSCA Standard or Case/IA Unique Notes that reference multiple lines in the text, the note must be REVISED to remove the reference to the lines being deleted or added.
When a line is revised for administrative purposes AND does not require a revision to the associated Line or Case/IA Unique Notes, those notes will remain UNAFFECTED.
When a line is revised to change scope, the associated Line Note may need to be REVISED.
Criteria to RESTATE: Case (IA) Unique Notes will NOT be RESTATED unless directed by DSCA or IA Policy.
When it is discovered that a DSCA or Case/IA Unique Note was overlooked on an earlier version of the case, it must be added.
Restatement of existing DSCA Standard Notes is rare and must be specifically addressed in the "Note Usage" section of the SAMM Appendix 6. For example, financial notes and physical security and accountability notes are restated.
Criteria to ADD: If a new line is added, a new Line Note must be added (for new sublines, the existing parent Line Note will be revised to add the new sublines to the text). A review of all existing notes should be performed to determine if any corresponding updates are necessary, or if additional notes are required.