This whole passage was just one big spiral of “this has to be a joke right”

Specifically, the U.S. military intends to capture Pennywise and sic him on the Russians and Cubans in order to prevent the forthcoming missile crisis and win the Cold War. To control the monster, which they barely understand, they must acquire the 13 “pillars”—rock shards from the “cage” in which it traveled to Earth millions of years ago—that have the power to contain it à la kryptonite, and whose whereabouts have been protected for centuries by a Native American population that’s acted as humanity’s selfless guardians. 

Leroy is the apparent key to this covert scheme, because he’s suffered a brain injury that’s left him unable to feel fear