His first $300 loan cost a fee of $60 every two weeks. More loans and fees at the equivalent of 520 percent interest per year soon swelled the debt to more than $1,400.

"It just kind of keeps snowballing if you don't have the money to cover it," said Burden, 35.

Now the Defense Department is launching a new effort to warn service members about the dangers of payday loans, citing new reports that suggest these lenders are targeting them.

John Molino, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said last week the department would begin teaching service members how payday loans can lead to an endless cycle of debt.

In 12 of 19 states surveyed, the study found the single greatest concentration of payday loan stores in a county with a military base. Those states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

"Military folks tend to be young, they often come from financially vulnerable backgrounds and tend to have less education," said Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Florida and co-author of the study. "All of these are reasons the military make particularly enticing targets for this type of loan."

The payday lending industry says it targets middle class consumers in the suburbs, not the military. Steven Schlein, spokesman for Community Financial Services Association, which includes two-thirds of payday lending companies, estimates military personnel account for 1 percent of customers.

"You'd think if we're targeting the military we'd be doing a better job," Schlein said.

In response to complaints, the association adopted voluntary guidelines last year requiring member lenders to stop garnisheeing military wages or contacting a customer's military chain of command to collect money. And collection efforts must stop if an active duty soldier is deployed to combat or a reserve or National Guard member is called to active duty.

Growth in the payday loan sector has exploded since the early 1990s, from about 300 stores in 1992 to more than 20,000 today, according to industry estimates.

Consumer groups have long criticized payday lenders for preying on poor and minority communities. Loan stores often encourage customers to "roll over" debts after the two-week loan period is up, which only compounds the fees.

While it is difficult to know exactly how many service members get payday loans, Defense Department surveys indicate the number is between 9 percent and 12 percent.

Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, concluded in a report last month that the Defense Department was not using the tools it has in place to curb the effects of predatory lending practices.

The GAO report said some junior enlisted members were not receiving the financial management training required by service regulations, despite warnings from top defense officials that debt problems can affect performance and unit readiness.

Military personnel are often reluctant to get debt management counseling because service members with severe financial problems risk losing security clearances incurring penalties or facing discharge.