Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1986. While commanding a tank, he was wounded in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. Nick was medically retired from the Marines in 2005 at the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.  Nick Popaditch is the author of Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery and  The Ultimate Marine Recruit Training Guidebook: A Drill Instructor's Strategies and Tactics for Success

According to the book description of The Ultimate Marine Recruit Training Guidebook: A Drill Instructor's Strategies and Tactics for Success, “The transition from civilian to that of a Marine is a process unlike any other in any branch of the military. As any potential recruit can imagine, Marine recruit training is difficult and challenging. Its purpose is to mold a Marine from the inside out.

The Ultimate Marine Recruit Training Guidebook is a comprehensive, practical, and easy-to-follow guide written specifically for every new or prospective recruit about to enter Marine recruit training. Gunny Pop offers step-by-step instructions and solutions, including helpful charts and graphics, for how to prepare both physically and mentally for recruit training. Written by a Marine who experienced it firsthand many times over, Gunny Pop explores what recruits will be asked to do (and in many cases, explain why), and the motivating forces behind drill instructor lessons and behavior.”