Efficiency of local militias

...how come no one ever mentioned to me Thomas Thayer's War Without Fronts: The American Experience in Vietnam?

...

In terms of productivity per dollar expended, "the most effective" allied military force was the much maligned militias, the "Regional Forces and Provincial Forces," aka "Ruff Puffs." (P. 165)

http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/12/the_vietnam_war_explained_as_never_before_in_hard_numbers_and_good_facts?wpisrc=obinsite