UPDATE, Oct. 4: Hours after this story was published, reports emerged that the B-1 departures from RAF Fairford were ordered after new warnings of an Iran-backed plot against the base. Here is the link to an updated story.

First, they forgot to follow the ships.

Now somebody needs to follow the damn bombers.

While Washington reporters and social media were busy warning about a massive American military buildup around Iran, B-1B Lancer bombers were doing something inconvenient to that narrative:

They were going home.

Several B-1Bs departed RAF Fairford in England Sunday morning, using MAYAN call signs and heading west toward the United States with tanker support.

The departures are part of a drawdown from the force of B-1s that had gathered at Fairford earlier this year.

And Fairford matters.

The British base has been used by American bombers operating against Iran. So when bombers leave Fairford, their departure deserves at least as much attention as their arrival did.

Sound familiar?

It should.

The same thing just happened with the aircraft carriers.

For days, headlines and social media warned that the United States was assembling three aircraft carriers in the Middle East.

Except USS George H.W. Bush left.

It is now in Thailand.

USS George Washington remains in the Middle East, while USS Theodore Roosevelt is crossing the Pacific and has been reported as Washington’s relief.

That’s called a rotation.

Now we’re watching something similar with the bombers.

Does this mean the United States is standing down?

No.

Does it mean the war is ending?

No.

Could more B-1s arrive at Fairford tomorrow?

Absolutely.

That’s the point.

Report what is happening, not what you think is about to happen.

Military forces move.

Ships deploy and return. Bombers arrive and depart. Units rotate. Tankers reposition. Crews reach the end of deployments and somebody else takes their place.

A snapshot is not a trend.

And movement toward a theater isn’t automatically a buildup unless you also count what is moving out.

That requires something increasingly unfashionable in journalism:

Following the story after the headline has been written.

So keep watching Fairford.

See whether replacement B-1s arrive.

Count what’s left.

Watch the tankers.

And before declaring another massive American buildup around Iran:

Follow the damn bombers.