I can’t find my schedule. Aren’t they supposed to be out?

Thanks for recaging the perspective NJ.

I used to look forward to working Memorial Day, when we would conduct flyovers for dozens of small community cemeteries. We did our best coordinating TOT with local service times.

Tell me, is it lonely up there in your ivory tower?

Signed, veteran who has lost a loved one in service.

My confusion comes from how do you know you're going to get the trips anyways? Does the reasons report say that?

Like, the way I'm interpreting this is: I bid it, therefore I want it, so how is it coverage?

Trips or reserve days that are shaded purple on the wide reports were awarded due to coverage. You don't know in advance that you will get a coverage award (although many times if you're junior you can make a good guess). In this case he bid for a specific trip on a day of coverage awards. Had he not bid that trip he still would have gotten a trip that touched Memorial Day.

I assumed that he was referring to this strategy for holiday bidding:

1. Prefer Off Day XX
2. Award desirable trip that operates on Day XX

If you can hold the day off, then line 1 is honored and you get it off. If you are subject to coverage over the day, then line 1 is ignored and you are awarded the trip of your choice, instead of whatever else was in your bid, down to the "award pairings" line.

Or he just wanted to work that trip and bid for it without the prefer off. It would still show up as a coverage award.

Ok, makes sense now thank you.

Interesting perspective I hadn't thought about it this way. My reasons report shows that trip awarded as coverage in the pre-award line. Later down in my preferences I had a "award pairing if layover in XXX" line, which was one of the layovers on the coverage trip. Under that line it says "1 awarded for coverage". Does that mean I would have gotten another coverage trip had I not bid that line or I was going to be given that trip no matter what?

Yes, from my limited exposure to this I believe if you are on the hook for coverage - it is supposed to look at your requested trips and try to assign one of those before putting a random trip on you for coverage. So it's a good idea to bid trips you can tolerate if you're likely to be subject to coverage. Also I think it does the coverage first, then runs your bids as usual, that's why it's at the top of the reasons report.
I believe there is info on this in the SRH or PBS handbook (sorry don't have them to hand) and also an Engage podcast that explains coverage.

well that's classy.