This Hawkeye should carry 'ND' as its tailcode. It was assigned to the USS Independence at the time of this picture. The squadron, VAW-88 "Cottonpickers" was part of the Carier Air Wing Reserve (CVWR) 30. The Cottonpickers were established on 1 June 1970. They flew Grumman E-1B Tracers (from 1970-1976), E-2B Hawkeyes (from 1976-1986) and the E-2Cs up to 1994. VAW-88 was disestablished during a ceremony at Miramar on 27 August 1994 (officially 31 December 1994). 160697 was seen on the dump of NAS North Island from early 1996 onwards. The Hawkeye was stricken by September 1998.