Cordon of Steel: The US Navy and the Cuban Missile Crisis - Paperbackby Curtis A. Utz (Author), Naval Historical Center (Author), United States Navy (Author) This study is a dramatic example of how the U. S. Navy's multipurpose ships and aircraft, flexible task organization, and great mobility enabled President Kennedy to protect national interests in one of the most serious confrontations of the Cold War. Curtis A. Utz is currently a historian in the Naval Historical Center's Contemporary History Branch. Number of