Why could Nimitz not simply command Leyte from forward waters?

Should Nimitz have deployed forward to command at Leyte Gulf?

A senior commander needed access to the communications facilities required for joint command, which constrained the ability to command from forward waters.

Forward deployment would place Nimitz closer to the fighting, but joint command required access to extensive communications facilities. Cunningham's experience after Matapan provides the comparison: those responsibilities limited how often he could go to sea. The commander's location therefore had to support coordination across the wider force.