Reliability: Picking the right people for the job

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tiffany Colburn
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Many parents go through a long interview process before choosing their childcare provider. They want to ensure that the person they choose to watch after their children is a person who is suitable for the job. The Air Force has a similar system in place for people who are watching over their important assets. That system is the Personnel Reliability Program.

The program was started in 1962 by Gen. Curtis Lemay after several incidents raised questions about personnel working with important assets.

"The safety, security, control and effectiveness of the mission is of paramount importance to the security of the United States," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Finney, 39th Mission Support Squadron NCO in charge of Relocations and PRP. "It is for this reason, the Department of Defense has established requirements and procedures for the implementation of the Personnel Reliability Program to select and maintain only the most reliable people to perform duties associated with the mission."

There are two types of certified positions within the program; a controlled and a critical position. Controlled positions apply to people who are near the controlled assets or to monitor entry into the area containing controlled assets.

Critical positions apply to people who have direct contact with critical assets.
PRP isn't for everyone. The program has strict screening rules and many factors designate whether a person remains in a PRP position.

For the program to work successfully, members must make personal problems known to their supervisor, PRP manager, support agency and the appropriate medical authorities.

"The management of the PRP is a function of command. However, each person assigned to PRP duties is responsible for their reliability and has an obligation to report to the certifying official or commander any behavior or circumstance about themselves or others in the PRP that may be expected to result in degradation in job performance or personal reliability or an unsafe or insecure condition," said Sergeant Finney.

Having the right people for the job is exactly what the PRP is about. Just as you would want only the most qualified people working with your kids, the Air Force wants the most qualified Airmen working with their important assets.