Iraq straining U.S. military

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The continuing war in Iraq is taking a toll on both the equipment and the troops of the U.S. military.

Reports show the rapidly increasing cost of replacing worn out equipment, USA Today reports. The divorce rate has also gone up for both officers and enlisted personnel in the Army and Marines, and most of the military is having trouble meeting recruiting goals or doing it only by cutting standards.

Equipment problems even affected the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. National Guard Lt. Gen. Steven Blum said soldiers sent to the Gulf Coast had trouble communicating because radios had been sent to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Gen. Paul Kern, who recently retired as head of Army Materiel Command, estimated the cost of replacing or repairing equipment used in Iraq would come to $60 billion to $100 billion.

The physical and emotional stress on the military has fueled recent calls to get troops out.

"We are grinding down our force structure to the point where we have no force structure," said Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, one of the few Republicans in Congress to oppose the war.