The New Smith & Wesson Academy is Open for Business

September 12, 2025, marked the grand opening of the new Smith & Wesson Academy. This new center continues the legacies of the former Smith & Wesson Academy and the Shooting Sports Center once located Springfield, MA, which collectively were operational for decades between 1969 to 2017. To commemorate the opening, a formal ribbon cutting ceremony was held, and Guns & Ammo staff were invited to attend, along with other industry professionals and media outlets.

Situated on the 236-acre headquarters campus in Maryville, Tennessee, this state-of-the-art facility serves as a premier training destination, featuring pistol and carbine ranges, a multi-purpose flex range, a 300-yard rifle range, and a two-story immersive shoot house. The Academy's design also incorporates classrooms, a fitness center, and offices. Starting this week, a registration portal will be available on the Smith & Wesson Academy website for a variety of training courses focused on pistol, carbine, and rifle platforms, and will range from introductory skills and safety to advanced techniques.

To kick off the grand opening, the Maryville Police demonstrated their new SWAT team training in the flex range and shoothouse, involving breaching the second story of the shoothouse and quickly dismounting from their vehicles in a combat scenario. The ranges were then open to attendees to try out Smith & Wesson's new products, including the M&P Shield X, Bodyguard 2.0, Model 1854, and more.

The Smith & Wesson Academy team will be led by renowned instructor Mark “Coch” Cochiolo. Mark is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer with over three decades of service in Naval Special Warfare. Throughout his distinguished military career, he has operated in a range of elite roles, including special warfare operator, breacher, weapons instructor, training officer, and operational tester. Mark completed four SEAL deployments to the Western Pacific and served eight years with the Navy’s premier counterterrorism unit, where he conducted operations across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. His final assignment placed him in a senior leadership role as Chief Warrant Officer responsible for training and combat systems with Naval Special Warfare Unit Three (NSWU-3).

Per Smith & Wesson, following his retirement from active duty, Mark transitioned to instruction, applying his operational expertise to train the next generations of Navy SEALs. As a contract instructor for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, he developed curriculum and trained more than 4,000 SEAL candidates in marksmanship and tactical weapons handling. Recognized for his precision, discipline, and leadership, Mark remains an influential figure in the special operations community.

“My decision to partner with Smith & Wesson stems not only from their strong alignment with my values but also from my personal experience carrying a Smith & Wesson for the past 30 years. Throughout my career, I have worked with a variety of firearm platforms, and I am grateful for the opportunity to leverage that experience in developing effective curriculum at the Academy, helping as many individuals become proficient with their firearms as possible. Smith & Wesson produces dependable, quality firearms – at the Academy, we’ll teach you how to use them,” said Mark.

To stay up to date with the latest news and events for the Smith & Wesson Academy, visit academy.smith-wesson.com

---