What the NATO rule asks for

The NATO phonetic alphabet maps letters to words such as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Zulu. The rule asks your password to include one of those words.

This is easy in isolation, but late in the game every word also affects length, vowels, Roman numeral letters, and ASCII totals.

Choose a word that does less damage

Shorter NATO words are often easier to fit, but the best choice depends on the rest of the password. Watch for lowercase vowels if the uppercase-vowel rule is active.

After adding a NATO word, re-check Roman numerals and length immediately. That quick verification can save a lot of confusion near the end.