Unconfirmed Death of TGO Contributor

[Westwindmike]

I just read on another site that Paul Gomez has passed away. It was reported to be a diabetes related illness. Paul has been posting videos on TGO for a while now and I know that I enjoyed them.

Paul will be missed. I will report more when I know more.

[Oh Shoot]

I just read on another site that Paul Gomez has passed away. It was reported to be a diabetes related illness. Paul has been posting videos on TGO for a while now and I know that I enjoyed them.

Paul will be missed. I will report more when I know more.

Wow, didn't know him personally, but that's really sad. It's on Rob Pincus's FB page, so guess it's right. Wouldn't have guessed diabetes, maybe Type 1 had most of his life or something?

His vids were full of win, the ones I saw, seemed very practical sort. My condolences out to loved ones and friends.

- OS

Edited June 5, 2012 by OhShoot

[MattCary]

I enjoyed the videos he shared with us and messaged him to say as much.

Really hate to hear this.

[mikegideon]

Sad news. I enjoyed his videos too.

[Guest bkelm18]

That's crazy. I enjoyed his videos. It was refreshing to see a non-mall ninja making good videos.

[Guest pfries]

I admire the man,

many of us never get to do something we genuinely enjoy in the capacity that he did. He was blessed and shared his talents with the rest of us, for that I am grateful and humbled. Rest well Paul you will be missed.

Edited June 5, 2012 by pfries

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Hate to hear it...

[Mike]

It is confirmed.

We've been looking for Paul since he dropped out of contact this past Friday in Washington on his way up to Canada to teach a class. We finally were able to find out that he passed due to diabetic illness in his hotel room. Currently working on getting him back here for services.

He was an amazing person. I miss my friend.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Mike

[R1100R]

I hate to hear this.I like his videos

[MacGyver]

Man, I hate to hear this. What a senseless loss.

[TripleDigitRide]

Sad news. He appeared to be fairly young, too. He and his videos will be missed.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch using Tapatalk 2

[TGO David]

Terrible news. My sincere condolences to his family and his friends. A quick look a moment ago at his Facebook wall brought tears to my eyes. What an outpouring of love and respect for the guy. We can all only hope to be missed as much when our time comes.

RIP, Paul.

[Erik88]

Very sad to hear this. RIP Paul. I enjoyed his videos.

[Guest Primer]

Paul. You, Tom, Jay, James and others push students to be their best.

[BrasilNuts]

Like everyone else I enjoyed his videos and commentary.

I never got to meet him, but I am saddened by his passing.

Thanks for posting this picture.

The Glasses, Mickey Mouse shirt, purple AK mags...the burning car...Perfect.

Looks like he was having a really good time.

Brought a smile to my face.

That's how I would want to be remembered... laughing and doing what I love.

Edited June 5, 2012 by BrasilNuts

[Mike]

A fitting eulogy written by Andy Stanford

In Memoriam — Paul Gomez

By Andy Stanford

Paul Gomez was one of the ten greatest firearms instructors who ever lived. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I can back up this assertion with hard facts.

But first, I’d like to discuss Paul the man. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a great father to his kids. Divorced and living away from his son and two daughters, he drove hours and hours every other week to spend quality time with them in his native Louisiana. I know they must’ve absorbed at least some of his unique personality. I guarantee it will serve them well. Our condolences to them all.

Yes, unique. Paul was nothing if not unique. Not too tall, bald on top, with a Cajun accent, he did not fit the Hollywood stereotype of a warrior. But he WAS one, having served in both the U.S. Army and as a full-time police officer. More importantly to me personally, he was a true gentle man. Gentle. By-God Gentle. Not surprisingly, Paul had a fetish for man skirts. He was often seen wearing a kilt—taught class in one on more than one occasion—or when “off-duty,†a sarong. He had eclectic tastes in literature and music, and an open minded, progressive political anarchy.

His food preferences were perhaps the only thing ordinary about him. Want to know the recipe for poison gas? One part bread, one part cheese, one part ground beef, one part Diet Coke. Mix thoroughly in Paul Gomez and stand your distance or suffer the consequences. Yeager tells me his diet had improved of late due to his affiliation with Patriot Nurse. Someone please let me know if this attenuated his flatulence to any significant degree.

Paul was often the quiet observer with a mind like a steel trap. Just as often he would debate the topic at hand with equal parts logic and passion. Paul was the encyclopedia and duty historian of practical firearms training. When Paul died, we lost a good part of our archives. This is NOT trivial.

Funny Paul stories. The time when, as a teenager, he joy rode his parent’s car across multiple state lines. To teach him a lesson, his social worker father had him committed to a mental institution. Paul being Paul fomented a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest style insurrection among the patients. That’ll teach ‘em! Or maybe the time he watched an artillery barrage tripping on LSD while on maneuvers in the Army. Apocalypse Paul. Yup.

I truly cannot overstate Paul’s intellect. Lots of memory and a powerful processor. Knew much about much, and the wider implications as well. A voracious reader, he quoted someone or other when he first saw the stacks next to the bookshelves in my house, “You’re out of book space. All my friends are out of book space.†He was relentlessly curious and analytical. Which is part of why he gets my Top Ten trainer vote. And he was a pioneer in the field, though perhaps not as well known as others.

Paul was one of the first guys to understand and advocate the use of the Kalashnikov as a rifle of choice. He developed a well-thought-out gunhandling system for this family of weapons, and documented it in a book that, according to Paul, was plus percent complete. Had he pressed on and completed it, he would’ve been widely known as THE AK GUY. Some subconscious Achilles’ heel kept him from finishing it. Maybe we can fish it out of his computer and get it published posthumously.

He also pioneered a state-of-the-art combat handgun handling system—taught in his Robust Pistol Manipulations (RPM) course. Paul finally convinced me of the merits of practicing equally with each hand. He experimented with and codified combat-worthy methods of one-handed malfunction clearances and reloads that represent true progress in the field. I invite graduates of the RPM class to get your heads together and formally document it to the best of your abilities. Viva Paul!

As noted previously, in addition to being a prolific innovator in the area of gun handling, Paul was the resident historian of the tactical training community. Knowing where you’ve been can keep you from duplicating efforts, and shed light on current endeavors. Every thing old is new again. It takes a significant investment of time and energy to develop a mature understanding of any subject. Paul paid his dues many times over in learning about his chosen profession. Few—very few indeed—have even come close to this level of study and research.

Paul spent many, many training days as Craig “Southnarc†Douglas’ assistant, uke, and—Craig’s word and high praise considering the source—muse. I wince to think of how many times Paul was hit in the head by Craig, or shot with Simunitions at point-blank range. (The former being by far the more severe blow.) This did give Paul a high-level understanding of close quarters combat, and undoubtedly a high-level of pain tolerance as well.

Last but not least, Paul was very interested in tactical emergency medicine. The past several years I haven’t seen Paul as much as when I lived in Florida, but I do know from phone conversations that he put a fair amount of focus on the topic. He undoubtedly sifted through a myriad of systems and derived his own from the best of the best. In fact, I’d make a sizeable wager on this and be confident of winning.

Paul had modest needs. For a time he was content with the bottom bunk in the corner of the Tactical Response team room. I think this is the result of living a very rich mental life, finding interest in whatever was in front of him. He was generally happy, and was pleasant to be around. He was a great friend. He led a full life, and did what he wanted to do a significant fraction of his time on earth. Good for him!

His legacy is his children, the other lives he has touched in person, and the wisdom he has contributed to defensive and tactical firearms doctrine. Thanks to the internet, a good bit of the latter continues to live on YouTube. And there is one final blessing he can bestow upon all of us. His death in his early-forties can serve as a reminder that no one has promised us tomorrow. Carpe Diem. Paul would approve.

[hornett22]

Sorry to hear this RIP.

[LagerHead]

What a fantastic eulogy. My condolences to his friends and especially his family.

[TGO David]

Tripping on LSD while on maneuvers in the Army... not really something I'd have included in a eulogy intended to evoke respect? Interesting. Sad, none the less.

Andy should strike that other part. For me it's a turn-off. For others I suspect it might be as well, and it casts a negative light on what I'm sure was meant to be a positive commentary on a man's life.

[jtmaze]

Sorry to hear this. Really enjoy his videos. From a life long type 1 diabetic he will be missed.

JTM

Sent from my iPhone

[RobertNashville]

Sad news and a great loss to firearm enthusiasts - the older I get the more often I seem to find painful reminders that life is fleeting and precious and that none of us know when we'll face our own end.

[TN_Hiker]

Going through the forums reading and just came across this. What a shock... I never would have expected him. I always enjoyed his videos and always learned something with every one of them. The guy looked like a relatively healthy fit person and I never would have expected a diabetic problem to be what would kill a guy like that.

It's really sad.

I tell ya though... thinking about the hell the grim reaper must have gone through to take the guy out gives me a small smile. Paul will be missed.

[Mike]

My friend Sherman House and I are working on getting this going in honor of Paul. Support has been overwhelming.

I'll be posting this in the training forum as well.

PAUL-E-PALOOZA

Everyone...like I said, the news from Uncle Paul Gomez' passing is still a shock. I keep seeing things, hearing music, and having ideas that I want to talk to Paul about. Reading the comments, and seeing the photos that so many people have posted has been great. I'm spending my days at work here, reading all of these amazing memories and stories about Paul, in between pulling teeth, and making plans for our mutual friend.

THANKS TO the efforts of many of Paul's friends and colleagues, we have many fish in the water at the moment. I'll review them in no particular order:

1. PAUL-E-PALOOZA (aka, "The Paul Gomez Tactical Conference Memorial") For those of you that knew Paul well, you knew that he would be less than pleased to hear that anything closely resembling a memorial golf tournament, even in name only, would be dedicated to him! Thus, the more appropriate, "PAUL-E-PALOOZA," name is chosen, and so mote it be. Paul's birthday is August 19th, and serendipitously, the 19th falls on a Sunday this year. So the conference will be set for August 17, 18 and 19. The location is STILL tentative. I've had a few GREAT offers on locations, it's just a matter of measuring how the logistics line up. So stay tuned. Thanks to Aaron Little, the RECURRING theme of the PAUL-E-PALOOZA will be topics and lectures that are either: TOPICS Paul would have lectured on HIMSELF, or TOPICS Paul would have liked to attend, however esoteric. The proceeds from PAUL-E-PALOOZA will go into a fund for Paul's children. Anyone that hasn't already, can still email me shermanahouse "at" gmail.com if you are interested in presenting or helping make this event happen, and continue to happen, from now on. Much like Tom Givens and Lynn Givens', "Polite Society," event that Paul so enjoyed and loved being a part of, I would like the PAUL-E-PALOOZA to become a regular event, that will continue to keep us all tied to Paul and Paul's legacy, as well as maintain the fellowship that those of us in this unique "fra-sority," share.

2. THE PAUL EVERETT GOMEZ TRUST FUND

My wife, Ami'ee Montiel House, along with our family attorney, are making steps towards setting up a trust fund for Paul's children, Gabby Gomez, Spenser and Lillith. Once this is in place, anyone who wishes to can make contributions, to a national bank chain, and have their donation deposited in the trust. Also, the proceeds from the aforementioned, PAUL-E-PALOOZA will go into the fund, along with the other projects we have in the works...

3. GOMEZ TRAINING INTERNATIONAL LOGO AND SHIRTS

Paul was in the creative process of creating a t-shirt/schwag logo when he passed. I've contacted the vendor he was working with, to continue the project, and get the logo and shirts, to market. Again, the proceeds from this effort will all go to Paul's kids, and we will all get a respectful, yet uniquely, "Paul," shirt/hoodie to have.

4. GOMEZ COMPENDIUM

Efforts are underway to create a, "tome," of Paul knowledge. Perhaps his PSP's from TPI, as well as his essays, writings and course material. This may be available in an e-book format, or as a hardcopy. Also, creating a compilation video of his combined YOUTUBE videos is also in discussion. The proceeds of which, would also go to Paul's kids!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...if you emailed me and I haven't returned your email, I promise I'm not ignoring you, I'm just up to my neck in it at the moment, and you will hear from me!

PLEASE SHARE THIS on web forums, Facebook, etc. And please email me, shermanahouse "at" gmail.com if you have anything to add, contribute or help, and I will incorporate you as best I can!

Thank you, EVERYONE, in your efforts to immortalize our Uncle Paul's ideas. I OWE Uncle Paul my best, and I will continue to do what I can for him, his kids and for Rachel, as well as all his friends and comrades.

Edited June 6, 2012 by Mike

[Cruel Hand Luke]

I knew Paul. Trained with him several times as fellow students and as a student in various symposiums and tactical conferences, classes taught by himself, and classes he co instructed with Ian Mcdivett (tac med) and with Southnarc (knife, MUC , ECQC, Saps and Blackjacks) and he was a student in my presentation at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference.

Paul was a WEALTH of knowledge, a deep thinker and always thought outside the box, never taking anything just at face value. I am a better instructor (and person) having known him.

RIP Paul.

[TN-popo]

This is a great loss to the firearms training world. I'd met / trained with him on several occasions and had great respect for the man.

He had not yet reached the status that he had earned as a national level instructor...definately known and respected to be sure, but I felt he deserved vastly more recognition and commercial success.

Sad.

Edited June 7, 2012 by TN-popo