FLEMING ISLAND — Steve Davidson did two tours as an Army pilot in Vietnam, two tours in the Persian Gulf and two more tours in Afghanistan. Now retired, he remains gung-ho about everything in life, especially when he’s in the gym at the Barco-Newton YMCA.

The YMCA on Town Center Boulevard is where veterans feel empowered when surrounded by fellow soldiers — some on treadmills, others lifting barbells, and the rest pulling weighted pullies or stretching.

Most mornings, as many as 50 veterans are working out, swapping war stories and rekindling the camaraderie of the leaner, meaner years of their lives.

Most are older and grayer, but each still possesses the exceptional cohesion and commitment a younger generation wouldn’t understand.

“Back in my day, everybody in the world went to Woodstock,” said Larry Hollingsworth, who was drafted into the Army. “Not me. I’m a retired criminal investigator for the Defense Department. It’s nice being around other veterans. It’s probably just an attitude. There is an esprit de corps. People watched your back. There’s no exception here. There’s common ground.”

James Crymes, who retired from the Air Force in 1985, said veterans can push each other to complete workouts or achieve higher goals.

"We recognize each other and have that military background," he said. "It makes it much more comfortable to come here and work out. And we can push each other."

Many of the veterans served tours in Vietnam. And like Davidson, Navy Capt. David Page flew missions in Southeast Asia.

“This group, we meet once a month to go to lunch and tell stories,” Page said. “I’m up here a lot of the time because they’re up here. Otherwise, sometimes, it’s not easy to work out. My motivation comes from seeing people like them that are in really good shape. And I’d like to be the same. I’m slightly older than them, so it’s not as easy.”

Navy pilot Rob Springman said he’d probably be in the gym without the unofficial veterans’ group. Still, he admits his workouts are more “enjoyable” now that his military brethren surround him. He used to track Soviet submarines off the East Coast and throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Ocean. When he retired, he went to work for a soft drink company, but the work was unfulfilling.

“I found out in the civilian world, you don’t have that same camaraderie,” he said. “I found it here.”

Davidson’s workouts are intense, just like his military career. He was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014 after being awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, 56 Air Medals, the prestigious American Legion Aviation Valor Award and the Daedalian Alaska Rescue Award and completing more than 14,500 accident-free flight hours, including 1,991 in combat zones.

Now, he looks forward to being in the gym and with his military buddies every morning.

“This is where we get together on a regular basis,” Davidson said. “As you know, the military community is intensified by combat operations. There’s camaraderie in the military, and that’s very important in this area because this is a strategic area for veterans.”