(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130117-mali-hmed-633p.photoblog600.jpg)Joe Penney / ReutersFrench military pass the the town of Konobougou on their way to Segou, Mali, on Jan. 17. European Union states will send more than 200 military personnel to train Mali government forces in the fight against Islamist rebels.By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC NewsU.S. military support for French military operations in Mali will soon include an airlift -- U.S. military planes will fly French personnel and equipment to the area.
Follow @NBCNewsUS (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsUS) A U.S. defense official told NBC News that the military is in the planning stages of an effort to transport the equivalent of about 30 C-17-sized planeloads of French troops and gear from France to Mali.
Most of the U.S. military planes will fly from the continental U.S. over to France for the mission, but least two Marine Corps KC-130 transport planes from a Navy base in Sigonella, Italy, are also likely to be called in to help. The U.S.-based planes are likely to be a mix of C-17s and C-5s, the U.S. defense official said.
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