Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 22 (VR-22) was established on 15 October 1984 at Naval Station Rota, Spain. The Medriders were formed as a separate squadron with personnel and four C-130F Hercules transport aircraft from VR-24 Detachment Rota.
VR-22's primary mission was to carry out medium-lift logistics flights in support of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Its roles included parachutist and cargo dropping, as well as medical evacuation. In 1985, the squadron acquired two KC-130F tankers from the Marine Corps.
The Medriders routinely supported the Sixth Fleet in NATO exercises but frequently responded to international crises in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. VR-22 supported the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon in 1984 and the Sixth Fleet retaliatory strikes against Libya in 1986.
May 1990 marked the beginning of an exceptionally intensive period for VR-22, when the Medriders delivered humanitarian aid to flood-ravaged Tunisia and began support of the evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, flying 200 sorties through February 1991.
VR-22 geared up rapidly for Operation Desert Shield, deploying a C-130 to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, two days after the 2 August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Medriders kept up an intensive tempo of logistics support and aerial refueling in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. At one moment, the squadron's five aircraft were simultaneously flying over four continents.
The Medriders transferred their tired C-130Fs by July 1992 and continued logistics operations with three KC-130Fs. One of the squadron's final efforts was the support of Operation Provide Promise, the international relief effort in Bosnia.
VR-22 was disestablished on 31 May 1993, replaced in its logistics role by rotating detachments of Naval Air Reserve VR squadrons. The Medriders never lost an aircraft or crew in more than eight years of service.