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

Not exactly notification of promotion but it was an unusual promotion "event"... US Navy, CPO initiation day. Squadron CO had Quarters/Promotion Ceremony and pinned anchors on myself and three other selectees. When the ceremony was over the CMC called base security and had us arrested for impersonating CPOs and had us escorted by the base police to CPO initiation! To say the least it was a fun filled day from there on out!

SMSgt Tony Barnes In my case, it was myself. Here is the quick story...

I was promoted to PFC (E3) on 1 August 1976 while I was on tour in South Korea by my battery commander. At the time, the commander and 1SG (who was an old WWII and Korean War Vet set to retire at the end of the year) promoted me to PFC in front of the formation and apologized that it had taken so long to get me promoted to PFC. I didn't think anything about it since I just thought it was old school promotion system, but thought it was pretty impressive about the apology especially given the 1SG's history.

Anyway, I was scheduled to change my duty station to Fort Sill, OK in the middle of October. So while out-processing in late September, the S1 clerk who I knew personally asked me if I wanted to be a Specialist (E4) before I left country. I said yes, but didn't think it would happen because of my recent promotion to PFC less than 60 days before). The clerk said he would take care of it and that was the last I thought about it. When I got to the transfer camp (Camp Casey), I was handed my final PCS packet orders and literally jumped on the plane when somebody said I had the wrong rank on. I looked at my orders and sure as shit, it said I was SP4 Stanek. Funny stuff... The clerk even back dated the orders to 1 October, so literally was out of uniform rank wise since the 1st of the month and I left on the 14th.

To this day, I still wondered if the Battery Commander or 1SG knew about the advance promotion and if it was legal and legit....

I was working nights. The old Sarge came in about 10:30am, woke me up, and said, "You've been promoted, you're now Spec4, congratulations" I said thanks, rolled over and went back to sleep.

They way I found out I was promoted to SSgt (E5) was from a co worker. I worked in finance and we were preparing LESs for month end. A coworker asked me what my rank was. Of course I said Sgt. he them told me that’s not what my LES said. It had E5 on it. I had a line number but it hadn’t come up yet. I went to personnel and asked what’s up. They said a supplemental promotion list but never announce it as they didn’t think it could include any one on my base.

Not as unusual as many in this thread. It it took my by surprise. I also realized I’d been out of AFR 35-10 for having the wrong stripes on my arm.

knocked on my office door and handed my my 1Lt bar

In the summer of '78, I was on leave in Austin, TX during a PCS from Lakenheath, England to England AFB, LA. I knew the results of the Major selection board should be out soon, so I called Bergstrom AFB CBPO. The clerk informed me I had made Major.

My son found out he was a PFC when he got his orders to return home for his senior year of high school. DS didn't know until then.

Back in 2007, when I was in Iraq, we had a Sergeant who deployed with us. We never thought anything of it as in the Army Reserve there are a lot of Soldiers who enlist later in life (I believe the maximum age for enlistment is 32, but I could be wrong) and they spend their time, do their 20 good years, and get a little something from it. Of course, we are all appreciative of these Soldiers who already have a civilian career pretty established who want to serve. I know I am.

We were about four months into the tour when we needed to internally transfer him to a subordinate unit. No worries, easily done. Mind you, this guy did not have consistent access to S1 systems and, from his point of view, he wasn't looking for promotion any time soon to SSG (he hadn't completed the PME required at that time, but had a school date reserved for when he was released from active duty (REFRAD).

I went into his Army Military Human Resources Record(AMHRR, the portal is iPEMRS) and saw a set of promotion orders was tagged "NEW" - which I thought was odd because the date was from a long time ago... like 15 years before. Curiosity got to me and I opened up the file. there were other files in iPERMS that gave his progression, most notably the advancement from E4 to E5 within the year before we mobilized.

In talking with the Soldier I learned that he was commissioned and, after trying to get promoted he thought he was passed over for the 3rd time (almost certain death for an officer's career), so since he already had 16 years served (some enlisted, some as an officer), he decided he would get out and call it good... no retirement because of being passed over.

He went from being one of our most junior grade E5's to one of our most senior grade 05's. When he retired he was not passed over. In fact, his promotion orders got lost in the shuffle when the Army went from paper records (201 File) to electronic records (iPERMS) and didn't hit iPERMS until a couple of years after coming back in - which happened to be a couple of months into our tour.

We couldn't transfer him to the position we had in mind (an E5/E6 position). We had to find another position for him appropriate for his rank. When I told our Commander (O6) about this, he was skeptical. After proving it to the Commander we had a promotion ceremony, where "SGT (name), report to the Commander" was finally read off as, "You are therefore promoted in the Army Reserve to Lieutenant Colonel with the date of rank of (I don't remember the year)" and all of the back pay for the time he served (of course, not the time he was out).

While stationed in Germany I was responsible to present a briefing at the weekly "stand-up" briefing. As we were dismissed one morning, the wing commander, whom I had briefed many times as a Tech Sergeant, came up to me and said "not a bad briefing for a Master Sergeant". I told him that I had not heard yet as notifications for promotion did not come out until the net day; he grinned broadly and said, "trust me, but don't tell your boss". I was elated.

The Navy publishes advancement in the Navy Times. When I made rate, I came in and everyone else knew because it had been published.