Allowing recruits to use their cellphones during basic training comes as the Navy eyes ways to lower attrition rates and increase interest in joining up.
The junior sailor died after ingesting fentanyl aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, where narcotics investigations have soared in recent years.
The event, which took place Sept. 11-15, saw the United States, Bulgaria, France, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom perform naval drills.
The course is projected to add an additional 338 sailors to the fleet in FY23, even as the service braces to fall short of its enlisted recruitment goal.
Special operations must continue counterterrorism and crisis response while also competing with peer adversaries such as Russia and China, experts said.