United States Military Aid Estonia

The Defense Department, struggling to cast aside more than four decades of suspicion, is exploring ways to help the Soviet Union and the newly independent Baltic countries by offering technical and organizational advice to their armed forces. The Pentagon's assistance could range from counsel on the conversion of defense industries and tips on how to organize military forces in a democratic society to more sensitive exchanges on nuclear weapons safety and security, officials told The Times.

The Defense Department, struggling to cast aside more than four decades of suspicion, is exploring ways to help the Soviet Union and the newly independent Baltic countries by offering technical and organizational advice to their armed forces. The Pentagon's assistance could range from counsel on the conversion of defense industries and tips on how to organize military forces in a democratic society to more sensitive exchanges on nuclear weapons safety and security, officials told The Times.