As Army Commander he is credited with spearheading the Indian response to PLA's attempt to alter the status quo on Line of Actual Control (LAC) by use of force.

He had the distinction to command his Brigade in Eastern Ladakh and also the Division in the same area, thus giving him first hand ground knowledge which held him in good stead during Operation SNOW LEOPARD.

He was the 17th Commander, XIV Corps of the Indian Army and assumed the post on 31 August 2018, This was General Joshi's fourth tenure dealing with Chinese troops.

As an officer and a gentleman his gesture of giving an honourable burial to troops of Pakistan Army who had perished on the icy heights of Kargil[15] fetched him praise and also a sobriquet of a 'humane warrior'.

Lieutenant Colonel Yogesh Kumar Joshi, 13 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, was tasked to capture the strategically vital Point 5140 in Drass Sector during "Operation Vijay".

Lieutenant Colonel Joshi conceived a brilliant plan catering for coordinated action to achieve total surprise and psychological dominance over the tactically better positioned enemy.

During the attack on 20 June 1999, Lieutenant Colonel Joshi kept motivating his company commanders and kept staging himself forward with utter disregard to his personal safety.

Drawing inspiration from him, the attacking companies surmounted the heavy odds, rugged in-hospitable terrain and enemy fire to close in and capture the objective, important peak of Point 5140.