THE OLYMPICS WON’T LAST FOREVER: The USAF maintains its Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) mission in U.S. Pacific Command. This B-1B was photographed in December returning from an exercise in Australia. Earlier this month three B-2s deployed to Guam (linked photo dates from September). This B-52 deployed last week (photo previously linked). Since North Korean athletes are participating in the games, everyone expects the Kim regime to behave. But what happens if Pyongyang rattles a saber? Though unlikely, it could happen. So plan for it. The Pentagon frequently assigns heavy bombers “show of force” missions. A show of force mission is one way of rattling back.

UPDATE: Three B-2s is a significant “forward deployment” of that particular aircraft. Here’s one of the B-2s now on Guam. The B-52 in the photo above arrived as part of a group of six. The B-52s and B-1Bs usually deploy as groups of anywhere from four to 12 (or more) aircraft. The bombers rotate between Guam and their bases in the U.S.