Two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders, defense officials said.
Cheney led the armed forces as defense chief during the Persian Gulf War and later was a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq.
The strike marks the eighth against an alleged drug-carrying vessel and the first in the Pacific Ocean.
Hardy was the last surviving combat pilot of the Tuskegee Airmen who served overseas.
