A U.S. Air Force staff sergeant assists Mali Army troops from the Economic Community Military Observation Group 13 (ECOMOG) as they board a U.S. Air Force C-130E Hercules at Bamako/Seou Airport, Mali. The C-130E, from the 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is airlifting the troops to Roberts International Airport, Liberia for a six month deployment for Operation ASSURED LIFT, a 17-day United States airlift and support mission assisting the West African states deploying more than 1,100 troops to Liberia as part of the region's ongoing peacekeeping force