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.

Nick“Gunny Pop” Popaditch is best known as the “Cigar Marine” and author of Once a Marine, a candid memoir about his service as a tank commander in Iraq, his horrific wounding in the first battle of Fallujah (where he was hit in the head by a rocket-propelled grenade), and his long and difficult recovery. Gunny Pop has experienced the Marine recruit training process from every perspective: as a new recruit and as a drill instructor (all three hats). This new book brings together his nearly 16 years of Marine Corps expertise.

This 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 behaviour.