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

I was assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska from 2002 to 2007. I'd gotten the shaft for promotion my entire career and unfortunately, being the only African-American Forward Observer didn't help my case because everything I did had to be five times better than everyone around me just to be on-par with my peers in the eyes of my "leaders." (I put leaders in quotations because they were everything BUT that, short of the rank they wore.) We'd gotten to Iraq for our deployment in August 2005. I "received" my orders for promotion to Sergeant in September with an effective date of 01 OCT 2005. I didn't find out about it until February of 2006 due to my chain of demand and NCO abort channel trying to suppress/nullify any and all of the good stuff in my career. When I saw that my pay had changed, I was like "YES! FINALLY GOT YOU F---ERS BACK! GOT MY RANK, B----ES! F--- YOU!" in my head. Then they tried to say that my orders were bogus, but they got really made when I called them out on their BS...especially when the Brigade and Battalion S-1 shops confirmed the legitimacy of my orders. I fought my chain of demand and NCO abort channel for 40 days over my rank. The next morning, I'd discovered that I won because I came into work and my PSG said, "SGT Blue! WTF?!? Go square your rank away!" Unfortunately, this fight started a number of other fights during this deployment...all of which I won. I also got all of them back because I let slip to the right people their minor infractions and UCMJ-punishable offenses committed during the deployment. What Military Justice couldn't punish them for, their significant others back home destroyed them on.

In 1991 I worked with a SSG whose name came out on the SFC list. From that day forward he wanted to be call "Staff Sergeant Promotable." He really went from being a solid, likeable, professional to a complete, obnoxious moron. Even the 1SG was getting annoyed. One Monday morning at formation the First Sergeant call attention and a fellow NCO called "Attention to Orders!" They called the SSG(P) up to the front and read out orders promoting him from Staff Sergeant to Staff Sergeant (Promotable). Top whipped out a set of three SSG rank modified with a stark, white "P" in the teardrop and pinned them on his collars and his hat. He then saluted and it was returned. Top then called "Fall Out!" He made that SSG(P) wear that rank all day. We didn't hear a peep from him until he finally got pinned as a SFC.

Mine was rather informal but a little surprising; I was simply called to our command CO's office in the middle of my duty shift, where another nurse and the CAPT informed me of my promotion, and put the new bar on my collar, providing the new stripe for my cap as well. It was just the 3 of us.

These stories are hilarious!

I was at Commander's call. The CO said that Vietnam was getting hot and Flight Engineers were being asked to replace Flight Mechanics. Hr then handed out vanilla envelopes with our orders. I told the guy next to me, I am not going to open it. He opened it and there were minachur (first time) E-7 stripes. Later he had three of us pose with Santa Claus presenting the stripes. Our picture ended up in the Air Force Times. That is how mt sister found out. We found out the LTC was a Public Relations man on the out side. We were also the last to get promoted with out a "line"..

We used to fill a jeep trailer up with water and ice and get dunked in it.

I actually have 2 of them. The was when I got my mosquito wings. I was out processing from basic and the personnel office asked me if my date of rank was correct. I said what date of rank and she said for PV2. Looking confused she said you were just promoted the other day. The second time was when I was deployed to Bosnia. I was working in the office when the phone rang. I said what office this was but not my name. It was the CSM and he wanted to talk to SGT Halverson. I said their must be some confusion CSM because I am SPC Halverson. He then tells me I was promoted 2 weeks ago and that my Chain of Command was informed, but apparently they forgot to relay the message.

Back in 2010 I was a Staff Sergeant at home taking care of my wife after her open heart surgery. My unit was downrange in Iraq and when she was healed up I was heading back out the door for my fourth deployment to the Middle East. I had forgotten about the Sergeant First Class board figuring I was going to get passed over again. I received a phone call that was very garbled with some dude asking if my name was Steven Allen. I responded "yeah", the voice then asked if my UIC was _____, I responded with "I don't know, who the hell is this?" The dude said "It's Campbell, congratulations (fill in the blank) you're #17"
CSM Campbell was my First Sergeant in OIF 1, he had just received the pre-po list while he was downrange and called me.

When I was stationed in Alaska, the Commander came into my office and said - "I can't believe this!
Sgt Ash, do you have a magic marker?!" I thought, yeah, I was the training NCO and we used magic markers back in the day...he proceeded to write on my forehead a number...it was my promotion number...I wore it proudly through the day...

Had a SFC walk up to me when I was a PFC in the New York National Guard he said. "We are promoting you today...just remember if you fuck up we can demote you even faster"