Vice Admiral Joshi New Commander of Western Naval Command

Vice Admiral DK Joshi took over the charge of the Western Naval Command in an impressive ceremony held at INS Shikra today. Subsequently the ceremonial pulling of the jeep of the outgoing chief by the officers was performed at INS Angre. He took over from Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, who has retired from the Indian Navy, after four decades of service. Vice Adm Bhasin said that past three years were very challenging due to Terror,Piracy and Pollution. Speaking to Frontier India, Vice Adm Bhasin said that the sinking of MSC Chitra and subsequent keeping open the sea lanes was also a major challenge.
Talking about Piracy, Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan said that Indian Navy has contingency plans to address the Somalian Piracy threat.
As mentioned earlier, The MoD had gone ahead with the appointment of Vice Admiral D K Joshi after the Southern Naval Commander K N Sushil’s complained that he should be appointed for the post on basis of his seniority. Admiral Sushil had filed a ‘statutory complaint’ with the Ministry. Admiral Sushil is the senior most three-star officer after Admiral Bhasin in Navy.
The complaint went against Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma’s descision to appoint Admiral Joshi and give him experience of heading a crucial command as he is most likely to succeed him next year.
Vice Admiral DK Joshi was the chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC). Vice Admiral DK Joshi has served as the Commander in Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN). Both the commands fall under the tri services formation. He is a specialist in Anti Submarine Warfare. He has attended Staff Course from Naval War College, USA; National Defence College, New Delhi; and College of Naval Warfare (NHCC). He has also commanded three frontline units in the Western Fleet including the Missile Corvette Kuthar, the Kashin Class Destroyer Ranvir and the Aircraft Carrier Viraat.