As Putin seeks a larger army, some see echoes of US in Vietnam

America learned from its own experience that drafts tend to cause political problems – and that conscripts generally don’t make the best soldiers.

During the Vietnam War, soldiers pressed into service “brought in attitudes and behaviors that were contrary to good order and discipline,” including drug use and insubordination, says Brandon Archuleta, an Army strategist and an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

That said, these were behaviors often linked to outrage in the face of unfairness in the draft system, including classism and racism, analysts note.

Read the full story and more from The Christian Science Monitor.