The US Army is overhauling its recruitment strategy and seeking to fill its huge enlistment hole by appealing to left-leaning people in liberal cities.

The Army fell 6,500 soldiers short of its nationwide enlistment goal for the fiscal year to September 30, The New York Times said in a new report.

It was the first time since 2005 it had missed its target, recruiting 70,000 of the required 76,500, according to Fox News.

Desperately in need of a new strategy, bosses have decided to make a 180 degree U-turn when it comes to the profile for target recruits.

The US Army is overhauling its recruitment strategy and seeking to boost enrollment in liberal cities after missing its target for the last fiscal year

Where they once focused on conservative youths in red states, the new targets are residents of 22 large liberal cities, including Seattle, San Francisco and Chicago, where the number of recruits relative to their populations is far lower than average.

Major General Frank Muth, the head of Army Recruiting Command, told the New York Times that the army wants to go to Boston, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

'These are places with a large number of youth who just don't know what the military is about,' he said.

The unlikely approach requires a brand new sales pitch, one that is tailored to cities where job opportunities are abundant and wages are high. Recruiters need to be seen to offer something unique and exciting to compete with the technology industries and well-paid professions.

So while Army leaders used to downplay combat and emphasize the training and educational benefits of signing up, they now want to sell the job on opportunities for travel and adventure, according the the Times.

'You want to do a gap year? Come do your gap year in the Army,' the Times quoted Major General Muth as saying.

The army will emphasize travel and adventure opportunities and market the army to young people wanting a 'gap year' experience

By emphasizing that the Army offers a chance to see the world, its leaders believe they have a good chance of luring young people who might be put off at the thought of spending their working lives in a corporate cubicle.

Traditionally, the US Army has had strong recruitment success in a particular belt of the South, which stretches from Virginia to Texas, where military service is often a family tradition. In some of these areas almost three times as many people enlist as in other regions of the country.

In the metropolitan cities of the Northeast, West Coast and Midwest however, the anti-war message is stronger and family ties to the military are less common.

David R. Segal, a recruitment adviser to the army, told the Times that in the past the army's strategy when things got tough was to redouble their efforts in areas where they know they can succeed.

But now, with unemployment at its lowest in 50-years and job competition extremely high, they have decided to change tack completely.

They will start by marketing on Facebook, Instagram and Amazon's gaming platform Twitch to reach the digitally-native generation. They will also use travelling exhibits that showcase different branches of the army, like engineering, computing and healthcare, the Times reported.

The Army traditionally gets most of its recruits from a particular southern belt of the country, where rates of enrollment are as much as three times higher than in other areas

They will also be offering sweeter enlistment deals and retention bonuses, and will loosen medical standards on certain conditions like asthma and attention deficit disorders.

Whether it will work remains to be seen, but some believe it will take more than a flashy new marketing strategy to get the new target demographic onside.

Emma Moore, who studies Army recruiting at the Center for a New American Security, told the Times that the make up of the army needs to better reflect those they want to sign up.

'Coders, engineers, women — there are a lot of people out there that the Army could use that don't see themselves as having a place,' she said.