Military Fantasy Job Contest Continues through July 4

The contest, launched on Armed Forces Day, already has more than 2,400 essays. The essay should be 200 words explaining why a person would want the fantasy job.

The Air Force is leading the pack with their fantasy job of shadowing an F-15 Eagle pilot and a flight in the fighter jet.

The Army allows the winner to parachute with the Golden Knights and fly in the front seat of an AH-64 Apache.

The Navy winner gets a carrier landing and a chance to tour a carrier and work with members of the crew.

The Marines will give their winner a chance to see what it's like to join "The Few." The Marine winner will go through five days of training at the Basic Course at Quantico, Va.

The Coast Guard winner will get a chance to train with rescue swimmers and drive a cutter.

DoD and Yahoo! officials have been pleased with the contest so far. There have been more than 400,000 page hits on the fantasy job site. In addition, more than 5,600 individuals have used the site to get more information about the various services.

"This is a way to raise awareness about DoD with the general public," said Navy Cmdr. Yvette Brown-Wahler, DoD's assistant director for recruiting plans. "It's a way for Americans to connect with the military."

It is also a way to aid recruiting. DoD paid $250,000 to advertise the Yahoo! military fantasy jobs. Brown-Wahler said more and more Americans are relying on the Internet for information. In many cases, the Web reaches just the people DoD would like to recruit.

For more information or to submit an essay, point your Web browser to http://careers.yahoo.com and click on Yahoo! Fantasy Careers.