Today's bombing of Yemen is tomorrow's landing of Marines on Taiwan, or I guess these days marching into Montreal and landing in Greenland. All of these require complete OPSEC from the entire chain of command.
People could, obviously, die from leaking a military operation. You're right that more people would die in a larger operation, but I'd assume most of us are okay with firing or prosecuting people for risking lives for not following basic policies.
Yes, but one is involving hundred thousand lives on a land invasion by a military general, another is about long range bombing being less effective by warning the target hours in advanced by a civilian/politician.
The level of potential impact, expectations and repercussions are very very different between the two. He should absolutely get fired because you cant do that sort of thing at that position - but equating the two is disingenuous. The general should have been court-martialed in that situation.
Not justifying Trump administration but just seems like a whole different level of stakes.