The considerable land based air power the Japanese had amassed in the Philippines was thought too dangerous to bypass by many high-ranking officers outside the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including Admiral Chester Nimitz.
De betydelige luftstyrker, som japanerne havde samlet på Filippinerne, anså mange højtstående officerer udenfor Joint Chiefs of Staff det for farligt at omgå, heriblandt den øverstkommanderende i Stillehavet admiral Chester Nimitz.