Possible misdiagnosis?

back in 96 i was in the u.s. navy and stationed in sicily. i started to have a chronic cough. i went to the e.r. where the doctor gave me an inhaler to use. at the time i was also a smoker and sicily is a very dusty climate. it also has a volcano that is active.(possible volcanic ash in the air). i know that i also did a breathing test that i believe measured lung capacity. they told me i had the lungs of a 40 year old. i was 21. i never had an asthma "attack". i would use the inhaler whenever i would feel tightness in my breathing, which was generally after smoking. after i left sicily i stopped using the inhaler. (just got sick of it and didn't need it). i now am trying to rejoin the military, but they are saying i can't due to my history of asthma after my 13th birthday. i've never had an asthma attack, i've never had a pulmonary function test or a (methalchlorine?) challenge test which seem to be the tests where they determine if you have asthma. is it possible that my cough and tightness were due to smoking, climate etc, and that i never had asthma? i no longer smoke, work out and run almost everyday, as well as work in one of the dustiest warehouses of all time with no breathing problems or tightness at all. if it could have been asthma is it possible that the symptoms would disappear that fast (approx 2 yrs)? if anyone could offer some advice that would be great.