Why Falklands command stayed at Northwood

Would moving the task-force headquarters to Gibraltar have improved command?

No. Gibraltar lacked Northwood's established headquarters, so relocating would have required building the necessary command infrastructure during the crisis.

Northwood already possessed the facilities needed to direct the operation, whereas Gibraltar had no equivalent headquarters ready to assume the task. Moving south would therefore have created a new infrastructure problem rather than shortening command distance cleanly. Northwood itself had been organized as a NATO command post, and many officers expected for an allied operation were unavailable when the Falklands campaign remained national. The exchange shows how buildings, communications, and alliance staffing can constrain command arrangements as much as a map does.