Rainbow Canyon is part of one of the largest military aircraft training areas in the U.S. and has been used continuously since the 1930s. Much of what is now the western portion of Death Valley National Park was added on the condition that this training would continue. The canyon is used for low level navigation training and became known as Star Wars Canyon because of the technical flight maneuvers performed there. Flying at low altitude and high speed is an essential military skill that requires pilots to carry out many tasks at once, so pilots spend hours in a simulator before their first low level flight, and only the most qualified are allowed to fly there. On July 31, 2019, Lieutenant Commander Charles Z. Walker died in a training accident in Rainbow Canyon while flying an F/A-18E Super Hornet based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. A Navy fighter pilot and graduate of Top Gun school, he served as Training Officer and Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor, logged over 2,000 flight hours, made 465 carrier landings, flew 9 combat missions, and received a Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, two Navy Achievement Medals, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal, and additional unit and service awards.