What's the most unusual way you have seen someone receive notification of promotion?

I had a Soldier that was for the most part a very good troop, but was known to push boundaries a bit. When we promoted her to SPC, I handed her PFCs back to her and said: “ keep these, just in case.”

I have a buddy that’s been trying to go into the ING with the Guard. His paperwork got flubbed up somewhere along the way and he rejoined our unit after going through the whole process. He went in to get a new CaC at the DEERs office and instead of 1LT, it said CPT.

When I got to Korea to the turtle farm, I was a SSG, we'll go to find out my orders had

I was told that I had made points for SSG while I was in what would be the second month of a three month stay in the hospital. Odd thing was I hadn't gone to a promotion board yet, I had however gone to a NCO of the month board the day I went into the hospital and the 1SGs and CSM thought I did a good job, so they counted it as my promotion board.

I was working day shift as an MP in Ansbach, FRG. I was assigned to gate duty at 1st AD HQ . Because I had to be on duty early, I was not present at morning formation back at the unit. Apparently promotions were made and I was promoted to PFC but didn't know it. I was on duty with my PV2 rank on. My platoon sergeant came driving into HQ and I was on the traffic barrel directing cars into the kasserne. He stopped in front of me and yelled " If you're not in the right uniform tomorrow morning I'll see to it you lose those stripes". I had no clue what he was talking about because I was squared away. THAT was October 8, 1977, Hindenburg Kasserne, Ansbach, FRG. The PSG was SSG John Phillip Souza, no fooling.

I was in Iraq in a remote location. One of our master chiefs came out for a visit and told me that I was out of uniform and I needed to put on the rank of PO2

I was an E5 in the Navy, and was dealing with an ex wife and child support issues, but it had been taken care of and was going smoothly. I get called into the Command Master Chief's office, and my department chief was sitting in there also. The Master Chief started yelling at me about having told me to get the child support situation resolved, and I was stuttering trying to explain that everything was taken care of and I had no idea of any problems going on with it, and he says that's not what he's being told. I kind of stood there looking dumbfounded, and my chief says "This is not what we would expect of a First Class Petty Officer". I thought he meant that because I was up for it, I wasn't deserving of the rank. I was still trying to explain that nothing seemed out of the ordinary with my child support payments, and he interrupted me and said "Did you hear what I said? I said First Class Petty Officer." Then they both started smiling and shook my hand and congratulated me. They put on a pretty decent show and I was shitting bricks haha.

I was just off active duty about a year and drilling in a reserve unit. One day i got a thick envelope in the mail with my SSgt. stripes and promotion orders. No wasted ceremony there, buddy. lol

Being a prior-service Marine in a Navy Reserve unit, and not having seen how promotions/frockings go, I was not aware of how they worked, and no one in the unit thought to tell me. I had been notified of my selection to Second Class, and would be flocked the next drill weekend I was at. At the drill weekend, at the pre-lunch muster, I get flocked wearing third class crows. The CMC reads the frocking letter, the CO shakes my hand, and whispers "You are out of uniform."
We are then dismissed for lunch. I spend my lunch period at the exchange at the tailors getting the correct insignia sown on my uniform on the spot, and reported back in time for muster wearing the correct insignia. It surprised the CO. I replied I had spent lunch getting them sown on.

The day I found out I picked up Second Class I’m coming back from the mess decks during an underway period, and immediately as I come through the secure door in the CVIC my Senior Chief steps out and with that serious “you’ve jacked up” face points into the office says to get in there. Immediately my thoughts go to “dear God, what did I do?” As I step into the office, my entire immediate CoC is in there (LT, SCPO, IS1, and all three IS2s) and Senior motions to have me sit down while everyone else is standing. Senior asks if I know why I’m in here, obviously I answer no, and with the most serious look on his face looks at me and says “I just got a report today and after reading it I want to say...... congratulations you picked up Second.” I was so in shock I never stood up while shaking everyone’s hands, and I almost asked him if he was screwing with me in those terms. Everyone had a good laugh about it, but I unfortunately was not excited about being promoted as the rest of my division including the other five guys who picked up Second that day.

Quick back story: new to the Reagan as Peleliu was decommed and I spent the deployment on Pel working in Security and not in my field, so I didn’t have a whole lot of experience coming in. I was able to test early but didn’t expect to pick up Second especially the first time, but instead of excitement I was filled with worry and questioning why me.