During the Vietnam War, the ARVN was seen largely by the majority of American and Australian service personnel as a bunch of half-trained, ill-equipped and unmotivated conscripts who were icapable of effectively fighting or standing up to the VC, led by corrupt, incompetent and uncaring commanders. Of course, there were exceptions to the rule, as with the elite ARVN units such as the Rangers and Marines, and by 1972-73 South Vietnam's military capabilities had improved significantly against the NVA's offensives. Now, how could the ARVN from the early 1960s have been shaped at an earlier point in time into a much more efficient fighting force which was able to take the fight to the VC and hold its own against the NVA ? Perhaps better weapons and equipment supplied from the US, as with ARVN soldiers being properly armed with effective small arms like the M16 from the start instead of OTL being given WWII surplus M1 Garands which the average conscript couldn't use (because he was too physically small) to shoot out against AK47-armed VC ?