Personnel Reliability Program

Within the U.S. nuclear weapons surety system, the Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) does not focus on tamperproofing weapons and ensuring they can withstand airplane crashes, but on threats from inattentive or deliberately disobedient yet trusted personnel. It covers persons both with access to the weapons themselves, and critical support functions such as launch control communications.

Sometimes called a Special Access Program (SAP), but not an information security program as is typical for SAPs, the PRP complements the security clearance process. PRP is focused not on the information, but on the people. If, for example, a person in a PRP-designated position is receiving prescription medication that might cloud judgment, his or her PRP status is temporarily suspended and the person is assigned to a non-PRP job, or put on medical leave. In like manner, severe life stresses, such as divorce, bereavement, etc., can result in temporary suspension of PRP status. Suspension of PRP status is not a reflection on one's trustworthiness, but on one's decisionmaking under stress. In many respects, it is a generalization of rules already applied to aircrews; a pilot is not allowed to fly when taking a prescribed but sedating medication for allergy.