This is the first Ask-a-Professor question I ever answered about sweaty feet! However, it's a valid one. First, it's not correct for the customer to say that "their commander has the discretion to spend their O&M budget as they see fit." While the funds may be in that organization’s budget, they were appropriated by Congress and subject to requirements of the FAR rather than a commander's discretion. That said, a contracting officer can use reasonable business judgment to meet the legitimate and supportable needs of the requiring activity. I assume you already checked availability from Federal Prison Industries and the Ability One Procurement List (which are higher priority than wholesale supply sources). Once the contracting officer determines the boots are not available from those sources, it's up to him or her to document the reason the stock listed boots available from the wholesale supply source are not suitable in terms of quality. The customer should indicate the specific reason(s) for this in the actual purchase request. The contracting officer should then document the contract file with the rationale for not using the various required sources of supply so that a reasonable person can follow the logic of the purchase decision. I'm unaware of any formal waiver process (such as for Federal Prison Industries at FAR 8.604) in the FAR or its supplements for not using a wholesale supply source...which places even more importance on the contracting officer's proper documentation of the contract file. You may also want to check with the head of the contracting office to determine if there are any local waiver or approval requirements for this.