Did you ask your squaddies what resolution they are using? I think you will find that players that use slightly lower resolution sizes will see the dots first.
I used to run my 24 inch widescreen at 1240x1024 and could see the dots first,when I ran at native,1920x1200,I would be one of the last to see the dots in the distance.
The best thing is to test it at different settings,both AA and resolution and see what works best for you! There's so many variables it's difficult to say what will work best for you,however you could try hooking up to a TV type monitor with a much larger pixel size and then you'll see the dots a long distance off!
YMMV.
