Meet Gladius, the newest member of the Calgary Police Service mounted unit

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) held a ceremony on Friday to celebrate the graduation of a four-legged member.

This ceremony marks Gladius' induction into the CPS mounted unit.

Both Gladius and handler Const. Razvan Alexe were awarded with badges at the ceremony, which was held in Garrison Square Park.

Gladius, a five-year-old thoroughbred Percheron Clydesdale cross, is named after Operation Gladius, a UN peacekeeping mission.

"The Calgary Police Service has a deep connection to our veterans," said a Friday news release.

"As a way to honour their service, in 2016, the CPS mounted unit began naming each new police service horse after battles fought by Canadian soldiers, or peacekeeping missions."

Gladius joins five other horses in the mounted unit, including Ortona, Dieppe, Normandy, Anzio and Kapyong.

He stands 17.2 handshigh, making him the tallest horse in the herd.

Gladius joins five other horses in the mounted unit, including Ortona, Dieppe, Normandy, Anzio and Kapyong."We deploy the horses here in Calgary for regular public safety purposes," Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld said. "We'll use them for protests and demonstrations, we'll use them for special events."

"Obviously, it's an elevated platform for sure, so officers can see a long way when they're on the horses."

Police say the mounted unit also helps with searching remote areas that are difficult to access by foot or vehicle, including parks, pathways and riverbanks, to locate missing persons, offenders evading police and evidence that may have been discarded.

Gladius came from the central Alberta village of Andrew, and has already participated in a variety of deployments, including downtown and CTrain patrols, crowd management and public relations events.

Officials say he is "confident and eager."