An analysis of the purchase deliberations of U.S. Air Force procurement buyers was conducted to see if there was any difference in the way they buy for the Air Force and the way they buy for themselves. The study was patterned after Dr. Terrell G. Williams' Consumer Decision process. The deliberation phase of that process was selected since it could be applied to the government contracting arena. This study is the first of its kind in assessing consumer behavior within the Department of Defense. Significant differences were found when comparing what the Air Force buyers do when they buy for the government and what they do when they buy for themselves.