The flight deck crew casts no shadows; the low, dark cloud ceiling completely covers the sun. The aircraft marshaller, donned in a yellow life preserver, raises the bright orange collar of his Marina Militare jacket to shield his neck. Rain collects in the pad eyes (padeyes).
Some miles away, above the gray blanket, an F-35 pilot is preparing to recover aboard the currently out-of-sight rectangle of real estate that he is sure is below in the middle of a vast ocean.
Mother Nature is agnostic to the mission at hand or the platform employed. Naval aviators and air traffic controllers can’t afford to be neutral to the elements.