Appointment of Program Manager Letter Requirement

What the Appointment Letter is, how to complete it, and when you need one for DIU-authorized Impact Level 2, 4 and 5 deployments.

To start the onboarding process for customers whose authorization goes through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and are working toward a Software Approval for Impact Level 2, 4 and 5 deployments, you must submit an Appointment of Program Manager Letter before onboarding can begin.

Important

The Appointment Letter applies to any customer whose deployment DIU authorizes. Deployments authorized outside of DIU (for example, FedRAMP or Commercial) are not subject to this requirement.

What is the Appointment Letter

The Appointment Letter is a formal memorandum required by Game Warden's Authority to Operate. It designates a Program Manager who is accountable for the program's cost, schedule, performance, and cybersecurity throughout acquisition, development, sustainment, and disposal, following the DoDD 5000.01, DoDI 5000.02, DoDI 5000.82, DoDI 5000.90, DoDI 8510.01, and DoDI 8580.1.

Complete the Appointment Letter

Complete the Appointment Letter on the Second Front Forms site. Enter the required information, review the completed letter in the preview, and download the PDF for signature.

If your network blocks platform.secondfront.com, download the PDF template and complete it manually. Then follow Download the PDF and route for signature to complete the signature and submission process.

Save your progress before leaving the form

Your answers remain only in your current browser tab. Second Front does not receive or store your answers while you complete the form. Closing or refreshing the tab clears your answers. Select Save progress file before leaving the form if you need to continue later or share the form with a collaborator.

Fill out the form

  1. Go to Second Front Forms.

  2. Under Appointment Letters, select Program Manager Appointment Letter and click Start. For other forms, use the search field.

  3. Complete each section of the form:

    • 1. Memo Header: Date, originating office or official, and Directorate name.
    • 2. Appointment: Program Manager name, program name, and program type. Select Other to enter a program type not listed, such as a Software Acquisition Pathway program or Middle Tier of Acquisition rapid prototyping program.
    • 3. Point of Contact: Directorate Director's name and contact information, including an email address and phone number, for questions about the appointment.
    • 4. Signature Block: Appointing official’s name and, optionally, title. For example, enter the Directorate Director who will sign the letter.
    • 5. Letter Preview: Live preview of the official letter with your answers populated. Highlighted fields show information that you still need to enter.

  4. Check the Letter Status panel to see which required fields you still need to complete.

Save and share your progress

You can complete the form over multiple sessions and collaborate with others. Save your progress when you need to pause or ask someone else to provide missing information.

  1. Select Save progress file. The form downloads a progress file to your computer.
  2. Send the progress file to the collaborator who needs to complete or review the form, such as your Program Manager or Directorate contact.
  3. The collaborator can open Second Front Forms.
    • From the main page, select Upload progress file.
    • If they already have the form open, select Open progress file instead.
  4. The form opens with your saved answers pre-populated. The collaborator can continue completing or reviewing the form and save their progress when finished.
Tip

Save a new progress file any time you make changes you want to keep. Use Clear form to start over with a blank form.

Download the PDF and obtain the required signature

  1. In the Letter Status panel, confirm that all required fields are complete, then review the Letter Preview for accuracy.
  2. Select Download PDF. The form downloads a signature-ready PDF using the official template shown in the preview.
  3. Send the PDF to your organization's appointing official, such as the Directorate Director, for signature. The official signs the signature line in the downloaded PDF.
  4. Submit the signed Appointment Letter to your Mission Success Manager, then upload it in Game Warden so Second Front can verify it.

How many do you need

You need at least one Appointment Letter for each instance of your application deployed for a different mission owner or use case. An instance refers to a specific copy or deployment of your application, even if it shares the same base code.

Example

Suppose you need to deploy your application, Galactic Donkey for several mission owners. Sometimes, multiple mission owners may share the same instance, but in other cases, each mission owner may have their own instance of the application. Even though it is the same core application, treat each copy as a separate instance when deploying it for different use cases or mission owners.

Application: Galactic Donkey Instances

  • Mission A: A copy of Galactic Donkey for Mission Owner A
  • Mission B: A copy of Galactic Donkey for Mission Owner B

In this scenario, you would need two Appointment Letters, one for each instance. If Mission Owners A and B share the same instance, you only need one Appointment Letter.

Upload your Appointment Letter in Game Warden

To upload the signed letter to Game Warden for verification, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Game Warden account as an Admin.
  2. In the left navigation bar, click App Central > Application Details, then select the Mission Owner Documentation tab.
  3. Click Add mission owner documentation to upload your signed document.

Expirations

You must reverify each Appointment Letter every six months from the finalized signature date.

  • Include Appointment Letters with your Body of Evidence submission for Software Approval.

  • The Appointment Letter expiration date and Software Approval expiration date are mutually exclusive.

If you cannot provide an updated, fully signed Appointment Letter, Second Front will offboard your application from the platform until you submit a valid one.

October 29, 2026
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