WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- About 2 billion U.S. dollars' worth of U.S. Army and Marine Corps equipment, from rifles to tanks, is wearing out or being destroyed every month in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.

    The figure is equal to about a quarter of the 8 billion dollars per month in military war costs, said the USA Today, citing military leaders and outside experts.

    The wear and tear may lead to future equipment shortages and cutbacks in more advanced weapons, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being developed with allies, and the Army's new high-tech family of weapons and equipment, William Cohen, Secretary of Defense from 1997 to 2001, was quoted as saying.

    The Pentagon needs 50-60 billion dollars to re-equip and restore units returning from Iraq, said Leon Panetta, the former White House chief of staff from the Clinton Administration and member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

    On Monday, the Pentagon said it had issued more than 1.7 billion dollars in equipment repair and replacement contracts in November alone. This summer, the leaders of the Army and Marine Corps said their services constitute a combined 23 billion dollars a year in repair costs, according to the report.

    The U.S. Army and Marines have reported using about 40 percent of their ground combat equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and military units departing Iraq leave much of their heavy equipment behind, further delaying major maintenance, and leaving holes in training for future missions, according to the Government Accountability Office.

    If the United States entered another war, "it would be difficult for us to accomplish anything," retired lieutenant general Donald Kerrick, who served in the National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, was quoted as saying.